Moving Doesn't Always Mean Moving On
by Alarkins
Summary: As the title implies, Elena and Damn have a major falling out. Elena isn't happy with her life and decides to move west in search of herself. She knows she loves Damon more than anything, but maybe this decision could help both of them fall back together in the future. **Delena**
1. Chapter 1

**Alone.**

 **Yes, that's the key word,**

 **The most awful word in the**

 **English tongue. Murder doesn't**

 **Hold a candle to it and hell is**

 **Only a poor synonym.**

 **-Stephen King**

 _Dear Diary,_

 _He was there tonight at Mystic Grill. Of course, I couldn't make myself go up and speak to him, again. Another night passed by and still this ache runs through my heart. It could be so easily fixed if only we would drop our stubborn, pride filled selves and apologize to one another. That apology will never come. Both of us made mistakes and hurt one another, but wasn't our relationship worth saving at one point? I bet he's still up there, sitting on that same stupid barstool, drinking that same stupid bottle of whiskey. He doesn't even seem to notice me there anymore. I no longer catch him glancing my way. I no longer see my name whispered off of his lips. This is it, isn't it? It's all completely over. Done. We pushed each other away. Maybe we've been ripped too far apart now for things to ever go back to the way they were._

 _-Elena_

Elena shut her diary and laid it down next to her. She picked up the glass on her nightstand and tossed her head back with it. The alcohol burned slightly as it made its way down her throat, but it soothed her. It would help her sleep tonight. Her apartment was far too lonely now with Damon gone, she could hardly stand it. Her friends worried about her a lot lately. She stopped making their weekly dinner dates, she stopped replying to their daily texts, she had shut them all out. Elena was drowning herself in her own grief.

Caroline and Stefan stopped by on a few occasions, but Elena couldn't find it in her to entertain company for long periods of time anymore. Between her part time job at the diner and lack of motivation to do much of anything else, she was stuck here in this little one bedroom apartment. She had become so used to her routine now that she hardly noticed it anymore. At first days would come by that she would feel as though her heart was being ripped from within her, but those weren't happening as much lately. Most days she could plaster on her fake smile, push herself through work, and come home to cope.

Elena wasn't living her life anymore. It was passing her by. She was becoming a dull shell of the person she used to be. She needed to force a change, or this would be everything her life would amount to. It took only one week for her to remap her life. She would take what money she had left in her trust fund, pack up her bags, and move out west. It was very spur of the moment, but this decision could very well change her perspective on life again.

The next week at work she would put in her notice, rid herself of all of the extra belongings that were non-essential, and tie up all of her loose ends. She couldn't decide yet if one of those loose ends would in fact be Damon.

 **AN: Help please! Run with this story or just scrap it? I have ideas where I want to take it, but is the implied story line something that would be interesting enough without being over done? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

The day had finally come. Her flight was set to leave at 6 that night. Elena had surprisingly managed to get everything from her moving checklist checked off. All, but one thing. She had put off confronting Damon the entire week and now it would be too late. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing though. She didn't need a reason to make her want to stay after she had already gone to great lengths to set up her escape from Mystic Falls. If Damon didn't hate her right now, he surely would after he finds out she up and left with no explanation, and more importantly, no goodbyes.

Stefan and Caroline picked her up at her old apartment at 5, and took her to the airport. It was hard saying goodbye to her friends.

"So, this is it Lena. All the way to California. Are you sure you really want to do this," Caroline pushed.

"Yes Care, I'm very sure. There's no way I can pick my life up here and you both know that."

"Are you sure you aren't just running from your problems, more specifically Damon," Caroline was being nosey.

"No, yes, well. I'm not completely sure yet, but just going out there will force me to move on and actually take care of myself. I can't explain it, I just know it'll be better for me," Elena felt awkward.

"Did you even tell him you were leaving," now Stefan was starting on it.

"No, and please promise you won't say anything to him Stefan," Elena pleaded.

"Elena, he's my brother. People talk, he will find out eventually you know,"

"I know, but hopefully I'll be long gone by the time he does," Elena sighed.

Elena took to dodging the rest of their questions or throwing them occasional "mhmm" responses. It worked well enough so that the couple could no longer be as intrusive. When they pulled into the airport drop off zone Caroline went into hysterics.

"Promise me you will keep in touch with me at least. I want to see you again. Don't just go off and forget all about us. I'll miss you so much Elena."

Caroline got out of the car with Elena and helped her gather her bags. She wrapped her in a big, long hug.

"I promise," Elena whispered to her.

After a few tears and a couple of waves goodbye, she was on her way into the airport. Silently, she promised herself something totally different. She wouldn't keep in touch with Caroline. Not with anyone from Mystic Falls. Forgetting them all was what she intended to do, and she promised herself that that's exactly what would happen. The only way she could get better was to move on from it all. There had to be more to life than what she had lost.


	3. Chapter 3

The airport was a nightmare. There were people everywhere. It took nearly 45 minutes alone just to get through security and have her luggage checked in. After that, she had to navigate her way around until she finally reached her gate number. She only had minutes left to spare. As much as she had rushed 6pm came and went. Her flight was delayed nearly an hour by now. Plus, this was only the first one. The next plane she would catch in Chicago would take her to Los Angeles. Was this some sort of joke the universe was playing on her? Trying to make it seem like she could never leave this place?

"Now boarding flight 116 to Chicago. First call, 116 to Chicago," A young flight attendant's voice rang out over the intercom.

Elena grabbed her carry-on and proceeded to the boarding line. When she reached the front the attendant took her ticket and scanned it. She handed it back to Elena and wished her a good flight. Elena had never actually been on a plane before, so yes, hopefully it would be a good experience because driving all of that way was not going to happen.

She walked through the terminal, and boarded the plane. The seating was cramped, but thankfully she had gotten a break and didn't have to share her seats with any strangers. She was by herself, and before the plane was ready for takeoff she decided to scoot over next to the window for a good view. There were several flight attendants now reviewing and demonstrating safety procedures for emergencies. Elena hardly payed attention, she was too lost in her own thoughts. Well one thought. Damon.

The plane was moving now, making its way to the runway. It picked up massive speed and then it started to lift itself from the ground. It was such a weird experience to feel. She was actually flying in the air. As the plane gained altitude, everything began to shrink down. For miles she could see all of the huge buildings, and highways, homes, and lakes. This was all so new to her, she could feel herself giving in to the joy this new adventure was bringing on.

Eventually once maximum altitude was reached there was nothing left to see, but clouds. Big, puffy, cotton ball like clouds flying passed the windows. Elena pulled her diary out and started to write.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I am on the airplane to Chicago now. In a matter of hours I will be in Chicago and on another flight directly to my new home. I got to see everything from a birds eye view. The buildings were small, and I could see for miles on end. The clouds up here look exactly like fat marshmallows. I can't wait to get home and see my new apartment in person. I'll have so much to do in these next few weeks. I wish I had someone here to share all of this with, but sadly I don't. I have left everyone back in Mystic Falls for good. It's pretty scary right now, but one day I know I will gain happiness from this decision. I wish most of all that Damon was here. My heart aches knowing that I won't see him again, but Lord knows it must be for the better. I hope to find a man like him again one day. Oh look, free peanuts._

Elena popped open a book and began to read. It made the time pass much faster. Before she knew it the pilot's voice came over the speaker.

"We will now start our descent. Chicago is an astounding 74 degrees today, sunny, with a bit of wind. It is the Windy City after all."

The weather sounded nice, but Elena wasn't staying there. Hopefully she would be on her connecting flight in the next hour, and in Los Angeles by tomorrow morning. By the next half hour everyone was grabbing their overhead luggage and filing out of the plane. Elena fished out the tickets for her next flight from her purse. She located the gate number and navigated her way through the airport to find it. There were gobs of people sitting around the terminal door. The flight wasn't scheduled to leave for another hour, so Elena scouted the room and took an open seat next to a stockily built, young man. He had his head buried into a travel brochure of California. As soon as Elena sat down, he looked up briefly to take her in. He didn't say a word, but smiled and went back to reading his pamphlet. Elena took her book back out and began where she had left off.

Before too long an attendant came on the speaker announcing that the plane was ready to board. First class lined up and boarded. Eventually, it came time for the coach passengers, and that was the majority of the room. Elena got up and hurriedly gathered her belongings. She pushed her way through people to reach the line. Once she got to the front she handed the woman her ticket and strolled down the terminal. Once she had found her seat she shoved her bag up into the overhead compartment and sat down. This next flight would take several hours and she wasn't sure how well she would actually sleep on the plane, but it was worth a shot. She leaned back and closed her eyes. A loud thud came from beside her. She opened her eyes. The young man she had sat next to out in the waiting area was again sitting next to her.

"Matt," the young man extended his hand to her.

"Elena," she shook his hand lightly.

"I was hoping to see you again. You left this in your rush to get away," Matt smiled and handed her a book.

"I was just trying to beat the wave of people, I don't like waiting. I hadn't even realized I'd forgotten this. You possibly just saved my flight," Elena took the book from him.

The two exchanged small talk off and on. Eventually, Elena got comfortable enough to tell him what she was doing going to California. She told him of a guy that she had fallen for years ago and never really recovered from. The only plausible thing she could see to do was leave and force herself to move on. Her and Matt had this connection between them. It had nothing to do with romance for her, but it seemed like he was the first person to truly listen to what she had to say. She wasn't giving him full on details about everything, just the outlines were dramatic enough. Matt took everything in. He also shared his story. He was from a small town north of Chicago. He was flying out to California for college. Matt's grandfather had owned a bar in down town Los Angeles and after his death it was being passed to Matt's father, but he didn't want anything to do with it. So, the bar was going to be his now.

Hours went by and the two talked like they had known each other for years. Elena hadn't even tried to get a wink of sleep like she had originally planned. The book Matt had returned to her had stayed closed the whole trip. When the plane reached their destination Matt and Elena walked out together and made their way to the baggage claim. They stood together as huge suit cases drifted passed them.

"I want to see you again. Where are you staying," Matt blurted out.

Elena shot back into reality. She never really made the decision on that yet. She had thought she could just jump around hotels until she could find somewhere that suited her. She didn't know how to answer him.

"Don't tell me you came all the way out here with no sleeping arrangements," Matt laughed.

"Well there's plenty of hotels around here. I'm sure I could crash at one somewhere," Elena replied.

Matt shook his head and lifted his suitcase off of the carousel.

"Just come with me. Well if you'd like to. There's an empty studio above the bar. It needs a little fixing up, but I'm sure it's better than nothing. I already have an apartment so it's just going to be empty anyways," Matt offered.

"That's very sweet of you, but I can't. That's too much to ask," Elena said shyly.

"No, Elena. It's my pleasure. We can just go to my place. It's fully furnished. You can take the bed and I'll sleep on the couch tonight. Tomorrow morning we will go and work on that studio some. As long as you don't mind giving me a hand with the bar for a while."

"That sounds like a pretty good plan to me," Elena gave in.

They walked out to the pick up area and Matt called out for a cab. He loaded his and Elena's bag into the trunk and slid in next to her. He gave the driver an address and about 20 minutes later they were pulling up to a large building situated a few blocks from Main Street. They weren't directly in Los Angeles, but close enough to still have a fairly large crowd on the streets. Back home it'd be early morning, but right now the afternoon sun beat down harshly. Elena was exhausted and ready for bed, or at the very least a nap.

Matt paid the driver and retrieved the luggage. He dug around in his carry on for the apartment key, and when he found it he lead her straight to the door.

"I used to come here and stay with my grandpa over the summers. He wanted me and my brothers to have our own space, so he bought this place. It's a small place, but that's all I need. The bar is a few blocks down from here on the main strip," Matt showed Elena in.

He took her on a tour of the place. It wasn't terribly small. One bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, and a squished living room with a fenced in patio. It was sparsely decorated, kind of messy. It looked more like a teenager's room than anything.

"If you don't care I might go ahead and lay down for a bit. I'm feeling pretty jet lagged," Elena confessed.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead, make yourself at home. I might head down to the bar and check it out. Make sure there's not loads to do tomorrow. I'll be back shortly. You have my number if you need me," Matt said gesturing to his phone.

Elena walked to the bedroom and sat her bag down next to the bed. She changed into some sweats and peeled off her tshirt. The tank top she had on seemed comfortable enough, so she decided to keep it on. She laid down on the bed and closed her eyes. She laid and thought about how thankful she really was that she had met Matt. Maybe this whole moving on thing would be a lot easier than she had thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Elena stared up at the ceiling for what seemed like hours before she could finally fall close her eyes. The sun blared in through the bedroom window, and it washed the idea of sleep from her mind. She was extremely tired, but there was no use in even trying anymore. Memories flashed through her mind. She could see Damon holding her tight in his chiseled arms, brushing down hair with gentle strokes. She could smell the bourbon and subtle cologne that always clung to him. He held her through the night when her parents had died. He was always there with her, especially when she needed him. Her eyes watered.. Elena had made a huge mistake just up and leaving him there, but then again, that's exactly what he had done to her. He had simply gotten up, and left. He obviously couldn't handle living with her anymore with the way his life was going.

Elena slid off from the bed and dug a t-shirt out of her bag. She found Matt's name in her phone and quickly called him up. The phone rang a few short times before his chirpy voice was on the line.

"Hey, up so soon? You hardly spent any time napping," Matt questioned her.

"Uh, well I wasn't sleeping too good so I thought I'd see if you needed any help. You said the bar isn't very far from here so I thought I could walk up and see you." The line was quiet for a moment. "Or I could just wait here if you want me to. I'm just looking for something to do to take my mind off of things," she added.

"Sure, come on down if you'd like. It's only a couple of blocks down, just take the sidewalk to Main and keep walking up that way. You'll pass quite a few shops and cafes, but I'm in the one on the very end. It's called Sal's. You'll see a closed sign on the door right now, but I'll let you in."

"Sounds good. I guess I'll get ready and see you in a few minutes." Elena finished her sentence and then tossed her phone aside onto the bed. She opted out of the t-shirt and chose a tight tank top and a pair of lightly distressed shorts. She spent a good ten minutes alone on her hair and makeup. It was no secret she wanted to look good. She wanted to get Matt and any other guys' attention that she could. Sure, it may seem like a hoe thing to do, but honestly at this point she didn't care. Wrong attention was much better than absolutely none.

Elena grabbed her purse, threw her phone in, and promptly left the apartment. She followed Matt's directions and found herself walking down a very, very crowded Main Street. How fitting to have such a generic name. Main Street. Matt would surely have enough of a crowd to tend to when he opened the place seeing as there was no shortage of people here already. When she found the door, she lightly knocked a few times. Matt came over and let her in.

"Sal's, huh." Elena smiled. "Family name?"

"Not exactly. When Pop's bought the place it already had such a good rep that he thought changing it might push the regulars away. So the name stayed. It's a beauty isn't it?" Matt held his arms wide open and gestured to the space.

It was a nice place. Not too dingy, maybe a little rough for her tastes, but surely they could clean it up enough for it to be attractive. The walls were a sturdy red brick, and the floors were all wooden. A dart board clung to the far wall fairly close to a set of pool tables. Booths hugged each side of the bar. All of the basics were already there. It had been in use all up until his grandfather passed away. It shouldn't take much to get it back up and going again.

"It's decent. We should probably clean though before we let people back in again," Elena continued to look around dragging her fingers across the dust covered bar stools.

"Well that's what we are here for! It's got pretty much everything we need. I just need to secure some new licenses and do some spring cleaning and then we will be open for business. Assuming you still plan on helping me," he nudged her.

"Of course. And what about my place upstairs? May we take a peek at that too," Elena urged.

"I doubt you actually want to see it right now. I didn't think it was as bad as it actually is. We won't be able to fix it up ourselves. I think I'm just going to get a contractor in to do the work, but it could end up taking a while. Sorry about that. You could always just stay with me until then," Matt offered.

"Matt I can't do that. I'm already kicking you out of your bed enough."

"Fine. Then sleep on the couch. I will not kick you out until your studio is ready," Matt laughed.

"I'm sure the couch will be just fine."

"No, Elena. I wasn't serious. You take the bed. I'm sure I can handle sleeping on the couch for just a month. It won't be so bad."

Elena smiled and thanked him. The two began scrubbing away at the counter top and sanitizing all glassware. They joked with each other more, but for a majority the two were stuck in a comfortable silence. Matt thought all about the bar, the studio, and now Elena. Elena thought about the same thing she always does. Damon. After knowing each other their entire lives, escaping his memories were nearly impossible.

Hours had passed before Elena even glanced outside. The sun was down now. The bar inside was almost spotless. Everything from the bar stools to the lights and pool tables were wiped down and cleaned.

"I'm going to update the liquor licensing tomorrow. Then I guess we can replenish our stock and be open hopefully by next week!" Matt cheered. "It's late now, let's head back home."

This bar was Elena's home, eventually. She would be spending much of her time to come here.


	5. Chapter 5

A month had come and gone and the bar still wasn't open. Getting all of the permits and licensing wasn't as quick as Matt thought it would be. The opening day had been pushed back for another few weeks. Elena still stayed at Matt's during the night, although he had assured her work on the studio would start soon. Elena was adjusting and even making a few friends here and there whenever she possibly could. The bar was keeping her busy during the days, she barely had time to sit and think anymore.

Matt was very generous with her. They went out to eat regularly and spent most of their time together talking about the ins and outs of life and future plans. Matt's always somehow included her whether it be best friends in the old folks home, or watching their kids play out on the playground. He was very straight forward with his dreams. It didn't take a fool to see that he was falling for her, but she wasn't sure she felt the same way yet. Everything with Damon had somewhat squashed the idea of any kind of long term commitment. She definitely didn't want to think about kids yet. All she wanted was a care free lifestyle for now. To be able to make friends that didn't judge her every move, to be able to make her own decisions, and to most importantly find out what love is, eventually.

After ordering in and pigging out on pizza Matt had persuaded Elena to go visit the bar with him. He had said he wanted everything to be perfect for the Grand Opening Party in two weeks, so why not fix up a few finishing touches. The walk was short, but the air was hot and humid. Sweat clung to them by the time they reached the door. Matt unlocked it and they both made their way in. The bar was a familiar place to Elena by now. She had help put it through an intensive rehab to make it not as cringe-worthy. Truthfully, it wasn't that bad to begin with, but now it was spectacular. The only thing she hadn't seen yet was her studio, but Matt was slow about getting it together for her.

"I still think it's missing something. It's just not ready yet," Matt stuck rubbed his chin in mock speculation.

"And what might that be," Elena laughed.

"I don't know yet, but it needs something more manly. You feminized it too much. Maybe a big moose head or something. Or football jerseys."

"Well those are two very different types of manly. Go with sports. Taxidermy freaks me out," Elena replied.

Matt considered the idea for a moment and poured them both a drink. They sat side by side on the tall wooden stools staring out around the dining area.

"Are you actually going to serve food, or is that just going to be random seating area," Elena teased.

"Well unless you know how to cook they will serve absolutely no purpose except to seat the ones too drunk to climb up here," Matt smiled at her.

"Well glad that my lack of cooking skills settles it. Should we put some little trash cans under the tables? You know, just in case," she smirked.

"Ha ha, very funny. In all seriousness, though, I'll hire someone to cook. We will have food, and booze, strippers, and music. It will be very manly. Hopefully a big enough hit to keep us in business."

"Really, strippers," Elena grumbled.

"Uh, I mean exotic dancers. If that makes it sound any better. "

"No deal. If I'm helping you run it there will be none of that. Especially if I'm living upstairs."

"Come on Elena. It's something new. Didn't you come all the way across the country for something different and exciting?"

"Yeah, but it's not very exciting for me being around half naked girls all night."

"You're working at a bar. Half naked girls are inevitable. If you danced though you could put them all to shame. Just saying," Matt blushed.

"You're funny Matt. I'd never do that."

"Well the offer always stands," he got up and pushed his bar stool in. He startled rattling off about what sports memorabilia will be on hung on the wall the following week, but Elena couldn't focus. Her mind kept drifting back to their previous conversation. Normally Elena would never entertain even the thought of it, but this new fire burning within her embraced it. Something new, eh? She laid out the plans in her head throughout the following week.

When the night of the grand opening had arrived she was completely unnerved. Matt had set out fliers, radio ads, social media posts, etc. for the passed month. Everyone in the local area would have heard about it by now. The bar was perfect, the staff was trained, everything was ready, now they were just waiting for sun down. By nine o'clock that night a line had formed surpassing the sidewalk and leading well around the corner of the building.

"Are you ready for this," Matt let out a deep breath and rubbed Elena's shoulders hard.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Start bringing them in. I'll help manage the bar for a while until I can find something more productive," she stammered.

"Sounds like a plan. Good luck shot?"

Matt grabbed two small glasses and filled them with the amber liquid. He handed her one and raised his glass up. Instead of clinking them together she looped her arm through his and cocked her eyebrow. She lifted her drink to his lips and he mocked her actions. On the count of three they threw back the shots and giggled loudly. Matt made his way to the door, ready to let the people storm in. With a loud yell he threw the door open.

The crowd pushed their way in the building and scattered around the floor. Some rampaged straight to the bar while others filled the booths and gaming areas. By the time the first hour had passed she had poured well over a hundred shots alone. Men bombarded her with questions and nearly jumped out of their seats offering to buy her drinks, which she almost always accepted. Her choice of outfit tonight was masterfully planned to accentuate her best features. The black leather crop top and denim short shorts left little to none guessing room for all of her admirers. She had a toned, sleek body. It shouldn't be a sin to show it off once in a while.

Matt had come to check on her multiple times throughout the night. By midnight she was feeling more than just a little buzz from all of her generous admirers, and probably the shots too. She had decided to leave the bar tending to the professionals and went out to join in on the dancing. The music pulsed loudly. She could feel it racing straight to her heart. Elena was letting loose for the first time in a long time, and to be honest she loved it. Nothing had ever made her feel more alive. Young men surrounded her and guided her to dance with, more like on, them. She didn't care what anyone thought tonight she just tilted her head back and let her body flow with the music.

Matt eyed her on the dancefloor protectively. He shoved his way through the crowd and gently taxied her through the throng of people. When they reached a spot away from the craziness he looked at her like with genuine concern in his eyes.

"What are you doing Elena? This isn't you," he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I'm having fun. You wouldn't know if this is me or not. You don't know me," she slurred.

"I know you well enough to know that you'll be regretting all of this tomorrow and whining to me about it. If you can't handle it here, please don't feel like you owe it to me to be here. I'm closing up at 3, so get your party out this time because it can't be like this every night." Matt was disappointed in her. Elena went back to dancing the night away with anyone that dared come near her.

Despite the major turnout the night had brought, Matt kept to his rules and started herding people out around three in the morning. Elena wouldn't know what was going on from where she was. Her head had been stuck in the ladies room toilet for the previous hour. The noise from outside had gotten significantly quieter. Matt searched around frantically for her as the last guests made their way out, promising to make this their new party spot. Word had gotten around and soon he knocked gently on the bathroom door trying to coax her out. When she didn't answer he forced the door open and took in her small figure laying on the white tile. She had already passed out. He would call her a lightweight tomorrow and laugh about it, but right now he needed to get her home. He entrusted his manager to close up shop for the night. The walk seemed a lot longer than it had been earlier because of her added weight in his arms. Once inside, being the gentleman he was, Matt laid her down in bed not bothering to remove anything but her shoes. He placed a bottle of Gatorade, an aspirin, and a small trash can on the bedside table for her in the morning. This was the kind of man she needed in her life. She always was independent enough to take care of herself, but when she faltered, he would be right there to step in and do the job.


	6. Chapter 6

Two years had come and gone quickly. The bar had been packed every single night since the grand opening, and it was going tremendously. Actually, it was going far better than Matt had even predicted. It was a local hot spot now. There were the "regulars" who visited nearly every night, but now you could count on seeing new faces from around the country almost daily. As business boomed, Matt had met the ever growing demands with newer upgrades. Now, they had a live band that played every Friday night from eight to close and they were starting to make a name for themselves as well. Elena finally got to move into her studio above the bar, and she was enjoying the new found privacy, but as much as she hated to admit it, she was also starting to miss being with Matt. With the bar getting crazy busy lately, he had been up to his eyeballs in paperwork and booze, but mostly paperwork. He still tried to take her out every now and then, but their friendship was turning into something more, but she wasn't sure exactly what new form it was taking on. Sure, she loved being with him, but she didn't love him. She loved the how nice he was, and the attention he gave her, and most of all, she loved his protectiveness over her.

Her life was smoothing out into a steady rhythm. She had even called up Caroline a few times to ease her fears on Elena's once depressing life. She told her about Los Angeles, and the bar, and Matt. Caroline promised to come out and enjoy a few nights with her soon, but that wasn't likely to happen with Stefan down her throat all of the time. Elena was very out of the loop when it came to the people in her old life, but oddly she was okay with that now. With each passing day in California, her old life was slowly deteriorating away. The past needed to stay in the past. What once was boring, depressing Elena, was now this new newly transformed social, and slightly wild, butterfly. Her new look finalized the transformation. Now, red streaks peeked out from her long brown locks, and tattoos trailed down her lean, toned arms. Nobody from Mystic Falls would recognize this new persona.

Elena studied herself in the full length mirror in her bathroom. Her look was always defined by her mood, and tonight she was feeling confident and fearless. She donned a red tank top tight leather jacket over her dark wash skinny jeans and black knee high boots. Her hair was loosely curled and hung down to the middle of her back. She wasn't just hot, she looked sexy and she knew it. Heads turned when she made her way downstairs to the bar. Guys whistled at her playfully, but she ignored them for the time being. She wasn't nearly drunk enough to start her games yet. She stationed herself behind the bar and took her first few drink orders. For now it was pretty slow, but it was a Friday night, and that meant by nightfall the turnout would be massive.

The band started filing in around seven that night. The party was full on by ten. It didn't take long when there was booze, music, and beautiful women packed into one area. Elena excused herself from the bar after a few too many shots and left it to Matt to take over. She hadn't actually partied hard since the grand opening night, but tonight she was planning on giving that a run for the money. Already buzzing she shook off her jacket, threw it on the closest bar stool and made her way to the dance floor. She rocked and grinded back against the crowd as the music flowed through her. Shot after shot was handed to her, and she threw her head back and took each one like a pro. She fell further and further into her haze. One man in particular had caught her eye. He was dancing with another brunette on the outskirts, near the pool tables. His jet black hair was ruffled and messy, his face had a slightly scruffy five o'clock shawdow, and he was dressed in all black.

Elena downed another shot of liquid courage and pushed her way over to him. She walked straight up to him and hooked her finger in the collar of his shirt. She pulled him towards her and danced closely as the song's bass dropped. Sweat beaded down her neck as their bodies grinded together. His hands grabbed her hips and he spun her around to face him. His hair was damp and starting to clump together in a cute way, but it was his ice blue eyes that made her melt entirely. He snaked his arm around to the small of her back and pulled her up against his chest. He kissed her roughly, full of lust. Fireworks exploded inside of her, she wanted more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hoisted herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist playfully. His hands moved to her butt, holding her in place. The brunette that had been with him earlier was now long gone, possibly pouting at the bar and bitching about Elena, but that was just part of the game. Somebody always had to lose.

"I know this is crazy, but let's go upstairs. Come on. We will have fun," Elena slurred as she broke away from his lips. She moved to his neck, kissing and nipping at it sensually. He pulled back from her and set her back down on the floor.

"God Elena, you don't know how bad I want to do that, but I can't. I really can't," he grumbled. Elena looked into his eyes, and silently begged him.

"Oh stop that, you've always known how to get your way with me, but not this time. This time I can't. It's already gone too far. I've gotta go," he pulled away from her and walked towards the exit. The small brunette hopped off her bar stool and chased after him, yelling obscenities at him the entire way out the door.

"Oh shit," Elena cursed herself silently. Her world spun wildly, and not just from the alcohol. The buzz she had nursed a while ago was completely gone. She had traveled thousands of miles to get away from him, and now he showed up here and blindsided her on her own turf. All of the feelings she had left behind in Mystic Falls had come rushing back o her. She promptly ran upstairs to her apartment, locked the door, and threw up the entire contents of her stomach in the toilet. The universe was determined to screw her over, and this was it. She ran from her problems, only to have them follow her.


	7. Chapter 7

Elena barricaded herself in her studio apartment the next day. Her phone buzzed mercilessly with Matt's attempts to reach out to her. He probably thought she was suffering from a massive hangover, and in truth she was, but her heart hurt much more than her throbbing head and queasy stomach. What had she done? How in the hell was Damon Salvatore here now? She had put well over a thousand miles between them and he still found his way back to taunt her. This had to be some sort of cruel joke.

 _May 2013_

 _Damon stumbled into their apartment around three that morning, drunk as per usual. Taking on his father's business had not been easy on him and he coped with it the best way he knew how to, by drinking himself to death every night. Elena always waited in the living room for him, making sure he got home in one piece. She tried talking to him to calm him down, but it never worked, so she would just help him clean up and get to bed. That night was different though, behind him, tripping through the door as well was a petite brunette laughing wildly._

" _Lena," Damon yelled out to her. He motioned to the girl and pointed back to Elena. He smiled wildly._

" _This is Kat. Kat's come to show me a good time tonight. I told her I might break her in the process, so if you hear some screaming I promise things are okay," he joked snidely. Katherine giggled at his words and he grabbed her by the hand, dragging her into his room quickly. There were loud giggles, moans, and other explainable noises. Disgusted, Elena locked herself away in her room and sat on the bed quietly. It was just another fling for him, she told herself. This kind of thing happened sometimes when he was falling more into his depression. But the girl came back. She would come over and stay there with them for days at a time. Obviously Damon had some kind of attraction to her if he hadn't just tossed her and forgot her like he had all of the other girls._

 _They might have shared an apartment, but Elena didn't think of Damon as her room mate. He was her best friend, her epic love, her soul mate. She had imagined various scenarios as to how he would come to this realization as well, but it never quite worked out. Katherine had started pushing her way into his heart, effectively forcing Elena out in the process. After two months of dating, Elena was fed up with their new intruder and finally spoke her mind. By the next night, Katherine was gone, and she had moved Damon out with her. That was the beginning of Elena's downfall._

"Elena, it's Matt. Are you alive in there," Elena jumped as his voice sounded from the hallway. She groaned loudly and drug herself out of her bed and to the front door. She hadn't bothered to change out of her pajamas, and her hair was in a messy pile on top of her head. Matt tried his best to conceal the laughter bubbling up inside him at the sight of her.

"You look like hell. It's like 5 o'clock and you aren't out of bed yet. Rough night?" Elena stepped aside and motioned him in. He handed her a small styrofoam cup of coffee. She happily accepted it and took a swig of it. She relaxed into her couch, sighing heavily. Matt joined her, switching on the television set.

"Last night was...eventful to say the least. Good luck trying to get me out of here today because I'm telling you now it's not going to happen," Elena laughed. She sipped at her coffee as Matt shuffled through channels. He smiled lazily and put a hand on her knee. He talked about his day so far, and the bar's success last night, Elena just nodded her way through the conversation. Her headache was starting to subside, but her lack of motivation for the day was standing strong. After an hour of idle chit chat, Matt decided it was best to give her the day to herself. He had arranged for her shift to be covered for the night on the terms that he could come and periodically check up on her. She gladly accepted and ushered him to the door. Before he stepped out he paused and reached into his back pocket.

"I meant to give you this. Some guy came in earlier today asking for you. He left his number. I didn't think much of it. Hell I actually wasn't even going to tell you about it, but he said you were friends back in Virginia." He handed her a wrinkled piece of paper. She took it and smiled once more before closing the door. She opened the note and stared at it. She didn't need the numbers on that paper. She knew the number by heart, it had never changed. Damon's name sat firmly in her contact list, she just never actually used it anymore. Elena crumpled the paper in her hands, tossed it towards the trash can, and crashed back into her bed. She pulled the covers up over her eyes and tried to force herself back into sleep, but it was useless. Her mind was racing too much to calm down. She was stuck between wanting to call Damon, or forgetting that this recent run in had never happened.

Deciding on the latter, she got up and tried to find something to distract her and keep herself from being tempted to pick up the phone. She did what any emotionally stressed out woman would do, and went straight for the tub of ice cream in the freezer. She started a movie, wrapped up in a blanket, and continued digging into her pint of Ben and Jerry's. The movie worked wonders, and soon she was starting one after the other. It was dark by her third one. A soft knocking came from the door. Matt had finally come to check up on her. She paused the movie and with the blanket still wrapped around her she hopped over to the door. She was ready to flash her most adorable smile and sweet talk him into staying for a movie with her. When she opened the door, her smile immediately fell to the floor.

Damon stood in her door way, running a hand nervously through his raven hair. She grabbed the door, ready to slam it shut when he stuck his foot in and blocked the way.

"Leave," she said bluntly. She wasn't audibly questioning him, but so many things raced through her mind. She had so much to say, but no gall to actually say it. He stepped inside and softly closed the door behind him. He reached out and hugged her to him. Reluctantly she accepted it, but pulled away quickly. He smelled strongly of bourbon.

"Elena why did you leave? How could you? Why did you run away. Do you know how hard I've worked just trying to find you," Damon blurted out. Obviously he has questions of his own that he did not intend to keep to himself like she had. She could tell by his voice he was hurt, but this gave him no excuse to literally ambush her at her own apartment. There was no hiding the disgusted look on her face.

"How could I? Really? You thought I was just going to stay there and wallow in sadness my whole life? Yes I left, and it was because of you." She was not up for sparing his feelings right now. He had hurt her, shattered her heart in a million tiny pieces, and now had the nerve to be upset at her because she had left Mystic Falls. No, this was not happening.

"Elena you were my best friend. I finally get a girlfriend and you up and fly across the country. Everyone important in my life has left me. I thought you were different, I trusted you. You know Katherine flew all of the way out here with me just to find you. She hates you, but she still cared enough about me to do this," Damon yelled at her. His hands flew frantically around the air as he spoke. Just hearing that wretched woman's name come out of his mouth was enough to send Elena into hysterics. She was about to go full out crazy on him.

"No, Damon. I flew across the country to start a new life. One without you in it. You were the one who hurt me, remember that? I'm sure you do because I told you all about it, but wait, you were too far up Kat's ass to even notice anything was wrong. Within two months every little shred of my life, my dignity, slowly peeled away. Where were you then? It took you two years to even show up here. So I'm guessing either you never bothered to look for me before now, or something came in between you and the she devil and now you need a backup plan." Elena's face was bright red. She was almost yelling as she spoke to him. He didn't even flinch. His ice blue, accusing eyes turned softer.

" I know it all upset you Elena, but I never thought you'd leave like that. You've always been a constant in my life and then one day I wake up and you are just gone. Not a goodbye or anything. Caroline wouldn't even give me a single hint. All she would to to me is that I needed to stay away from you. I had to pretty much beat the details out of Stefan." They were both standing awkwardly in the kitchen bickering with one another. Surprisingly Katherine wasn't there to put her two cents in.

" Actually you have that backwards. You left me. We have always been inseparable. Ever since high school and then one night some slut comes home and tears you away in a matter of two months. I go to bed one night with my best friend across the hall, and wake up to almost all of your stuff moved out and I'm by myself. So you have nobody to blame but yourself, and Katherine too if you're feeling that pitiful about yourself. Speaking of, where is your little tramp," Elena spat. Damon smirked, confusing Elena.

"So that's what this is about. Katherine. You're mad because I moved out to be with her. You were jealous and wanted to get back at me by leaving too. Well it worked, you win. Now come home. I want my best friend back," Damon tried wrapping his arms around her again, but Elena backed away. She shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. She balled up her fists and pushed them against his chest. She didn't want to break down right now, but she was so close to it, she needed him to leave.

"No. I'm never coming back. I'm better here without you. I loved you and you took me for granted. I have a life here. I have Matt and the bar, and you know what. He loves me. He would do anything to be with me, but I haven't been able to give him the chance because you have had me all fucked up in the head for years. But that's not the case now. I'm free from you. Just leave Damon. Go back to your hotel with Kat. Go home. Just leave me alone," tears flooded from her eyes now. She sank down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table and cried. Damon stood in front of her in shock.

The front door swung open quickly. Matt came barreling through the doorway, but stopped short of Damon. He gave him a cock eyed glance before noticing Elena at the table. He rushed over to her placing his arms around her shoulders and rubbing small circles into her arms trying to soothe her.

"Hey man. I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing here, but I think you need to leave. Obviously Elena doesn't want you here. Just get lost," Matt's protective streak was coming out. He glared at Damon dangerously. Damon laughed sarcastically before turning his full attention to Matt.

"Damon Salvatore. Elena's best friend. No, I don't need to get lost, but maybe you do. We were just catching up before you rudely interrupted," his eyes sent daggers through Matt. Elena sat up, rubbed her eyes, and walked away from both men. Her face was red and puffy now, but she proceeded to return to the couch and unpause her movie. She just wanted to ignore them both until they went away. It didn't work out as planned. Damon sat next to her and pulled her face to him.

"Elena. You are the most important girl in my life. Not Katherine. It's not even close. She knows that too, and that's why we fight all of the time. This entire time you've been gone half of me has been missing, and you know you feel that way too. I love you, and miss having you around. You made my life more bearable. Please just come home, or at least come visit for a week and then decide what you want." He kissed her forehead. Her heart instantly melted. She could put on a brave face and pretend she hated him as much as she wanted, but they both knew she didn't. She couldn't stay mad at him. Without a word, she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You can't be serious Elena. You are actually giving in to this jerk? After everything you've been through to get out of that town and start over you are considering going back just like that," Matt was fuming. He paced back and forth in the kitchen. She still remained silent. She didn't want to acknowledge anything yet. She hadn't even made up her own mind yet. Everything had happened so suddenly tonight that she was still trying to process what was going on.

" Jerk? I'm hurt," Damon responded sarcastically. He rolled his eyes, but held Elena close to him.

"Elena, I love you, and I'm sure you know that. I would give you the world. I want to be able to call you mine, and maybe one day even be your husband. It's ultimately up to you, but at least give me a little bit of thought in the matter." Matt pleaded to her with his bright green eyes. He finally said it. Whether out of pure desperation, or with the intent of pissing Damon off, he did it. He went there. This just added more stress on Elena's already overfilled plate.

" I want to go home. I want to see my friends, but I don't want to stay. My life is finally coming together here, and I don't want to give that up. Just give me some time, Damon. I'll come home when I'm ready. Can you please both leave. I've had a hell of a night, and I really just want to go to bed." Elena go up and went to her bed, refusing to give either guy another ounce of her attention. She listened to them bickering for a while, but things eventually went quiet. She didn't bother to check to see if they'd left, once the lights flickered off she shut her eyes and let herself fade into a thoughtless slumber. She had had enough for one night. She could deal with the repercussions the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

Six weeks had passed since she had seen Damon. She didn't even know if he was still in California or not. Of course, he tried contacting her, but she blew off the call every time. Matt, on the other hand, had been stuck to her each and every day since then. She had even went out on a few official dates with him, but that didn't give her the answers she was looking for. She still wanted to go home, but she wasn't sure how she would arrange all of that. She also wasn't quite sure how well Matt would handle it, so she had decided to meet him for coffee at a cafe down the street soon to break the news to him.

Elena showered, and got dressed up nicely before heading out the door. Her makeup was a little heavier than usual to cover the black bags that hung from her eyes recently. She was trying to construct how the conversation would go in her head. All of the situations so far had not worked out as planned. This would be great. Deciding to just get it over with, she put her sunglasses on and slipped outside into the afternoon sun. The cafe wasn't far and she reached it within ten minutes. Matt was already sitting outside at one of the black wrought iron tables sipping from his mug. When he saw her approaching his eyes lit up, and he smiled slightly.

"Why hello there beautiful," He stood up and hugged her. Matt held her chair out and pushed it in as she sat down. He held a mug out to her and she gladly accepted it. The air outside was hot, and dry. Somehow they were still comfortably were drinking coffee despite the heat.

"So, what are your plans this week," Matt asked her as he took a sip from his cup.

"Oh you know. The usual stuff. Working I guess, cleaning up the apartment. Maybe a few dates with my man," she laughed. She noticed the small sparkle in his eyes with her indication. She immediately regretted what she had insinuated. She enjoyed what they had going on right now, but she didn't want to lead him on and then change her mind and let him down. She hadn't had the easiest time with commitment, thanks to Damon.

"Oh your man, huh." Matt chuckled. He had noticed and now was probably going to run with it. Oops. This wouldn't help with Elena's next revelation.

"Actually I had something on my mind. I think I want to go back to Mystic Falls this week. Just to visit of course, I'll be back by Sunday. What do you think? You think you and the bar can manage while I'm gone?" Elena's face blushed red as she rushed the words out. She lowered her eyes, but when he didn't speak right away she looked up at him warily.

"I think that sounds like a great idea. You need to go back and put it all behind you. As long as you make up for those dates you'll be missing with me when you get back then I'm all good," Matt smirked. She could tell he didn't actually like the plan, but he was going along with it to make her happy. That was so like him. As they sat and talked he offered to help her pack and take her to the airport later that night. She accepted his offers, savoring the time they could spend together before she left. When they were finished the two left their mugs outside and Matt offered his arm to her as they walked back to her studio together.

Elena didn't pack as lightly this time as she had before on the plane. After two years of living here in Los Angeles she had acquired new clothes and makeup, and tons of shoes she wanted to show off back home. Caroline had been excited after she called and informed her that she would be arriving the next day. In typical Caroline fashion, she had set up their guest room and demanded Elena stay there instead of a grimy hotel. She gave Matt all of the information he would need, including Caroline's number in case of emergency.

The moment Matt had dropped her off at the airport was bittersweet. She knew she would miss him, but she was anxious to get back home and see her old friends again. If she got too homesick Matt assured her she could come back home early. They shared a long, close hug just before the security check line. As she pulled away and grabbed her rolling bag by the handle Matt quickly spun her around a planted a kiss on her unsuspecting lips. She was taken aback at first, but melted into it naturally. She kissed him back. When he pulled away, his face was beet red and a smile was slapped on his face.

"Now you have something to remember me by. There will be more of that when you get home," he laughed. It was his awkward way of trying to be bold and flirty. Elena giggled and shook her head as she turned and walked away. She glanced back over her shoulder and waved to him.

"I'll miss you," she called out to him.

"Miss you more. Be safe. Have fun."

Elena boarded momentarily. Two flights, and numerous hours later she finally touched down in Virginia. Stefan was waiting patiently for her at the baggage claim. She ran and wrapped her arms around her friend. Stefan took her bag and ushered her to his car.

"How was the flight? You look great! A lot better than when you left, not to sound bad," Stefan said bashfully. Elena shut the door and situated herself in the car. Stefan fiddled with the radio a little before starting their hour journey home to Mystic Falls.

"It was okay. Certainly takes forever to travel. Just glad to be coming home for a while. Where's Caroline? I was sure she would be going crazy to see me," Elena noted. Stefan kept his eyes on the road.

"She got held up at work for a little bit. She should be home by the time we get there. You know how she is."

"Control freak.," they answered simultaneously. Stefan hadn't changed much. His hair was the same subtle brown color, smoothed back like normal. He had a subtle five o'clock shadow at the moment, he was nice looking for sure, but in a more guy next door way, like Matt. Damon on the other hand was nothing like Stefan. Although they were brothers, Damon had a more dangerous vibe to him. He was lean and toned, had messy black hair, and piercing ice blue eyes. He was anything but mildly ordinary, he was wildly sexy.

"Oh no, you guys didn't tell Damon I was coming in did you," worry bled through her words. She hadn't wanted to see Damon again yet. Not when things with Matt were starting to take off. She couldn't be around him in fear of her heart making decisions that she really couldn't handle. Stefan looked at her nervously.

"Uh, well I don't think Caroline said anything to him. It's a small town,though, you know word gets around fast. I'm sure he knows. I'm kind of surprised he didn't beat me to the airport honestly." Elena swallowed the lump in her throat. Now she was nervous. Thankfully, she had at least cleaned up in the airport bathroom before finding Stefan. She was glad she went for the long maxi dress and curls now instead of the usual sweatpant clad flight attire.

"Katherine probably wouldn't let him come. I'll be surprised if she even lets him out of the house to see me," Elena huffed. It was the truth, after all, Katherine hated her spot in Damon's life before. It's not like she would willingly give up control of him in fear of him running away on her. She was always self centered. She wouldn't care if Damon was upset about not seeing Elena, as long as she still got all of his attention she would be perfectly content.

"Ha, yeah really. I don't think he even leaves the house anymore except to go to work. I haven't seen him in at least a month! That woman is horrible, Lena," Stefan openly showed his dislike for her. Although it was rather petty, the two talked about all of the things they hated about her for a majority of their ride. There was so many things to name off that it seemed almost hilarious. Elena was having a good time being home so far, she had so much to bitch about, until Stefan's revelation shut her up entirely.

"You know they got married about four months ago, right? Biggest mistake of his life. We all told him it was a bad idea, but she somehow sucked him into it," Stefan shook his had sadly. Elena's smile dropped and her mood instantly turned sour. He took note of this, and changed the subject as they hit the Mystic Falls city limit sign.

"Just a few more minutes! I bet Caroline smothers you all week. Hopefully you can make it out of the house at some point to go hit the town," he teased. Elena remained quiet, still taking in Damon's new status. When they pulled up to the old boarding house car littered the driveway. This could only mean one thing: welcome home party. Shit.

"You didn't. This was your all's big plan? A party? I don't think I'm up for this, Stefan," she whined. Elena felt all jittery and nervous now.

"Not much of a surprise now, huh? Damn Caroline, I told her to have people park out back, but I guess when you have this many people dying to see you its hard to find enough parking space," he chuckled. Elena rolled her eyes as they came to a stop in front of the door. He offered to take her bags up to the guest room so she cautiously made her way to the large wooden door. She sucked in a deep breath before placing her hand on the knob and twisting it open.

"Surprise," everyone yelled. People were packed into the living room. Caroline pushed her way through the crowd to grab Elena first. Others followed suit and bombarded her with hugs. By the time she made her way to the kitchen she had given out at least fifty hugs and told over a dozen about her life in California, minus Matt. She wasn't sure she was ready for that rumor to get around yet. She still hadn't caught sight of her ex best friend yet, so she was doing well.

Caroline never left her side and tended to her every need. She downed drink after drink, and ate every snack offered to her. Guests made a bunch of small talk with her, but none of it stood out or was truly remarkable. Well into the night, jet lag started setting in and she was ready to get away from the party and turn in. She notified Caroline, who urged the party to trump on, and excused herself upstairs to the guest room.

Deciding on a hot bath, Elena prepared the en suite bathroom with her pajamas and towels and turned the faucet on. She started undressing, but noticed her comb was still packed in her bag. She wrapped a towel around her and tip toed back into the room only to be stopped dead in her tracks by someone staring out of her bedroom window. She knew who it was right off the bat. She had thought she had gotten off lucky in avoiding him so far, but that couldn't last, right?

"Damon, you can't be here right now," Elena sighed heavily. She clutched the towel a bit tighter to her body as she used her other hand to search her suitcase. Damon turned around to her and smirked as he took in her appearance.

"You seemed to have missed me at the party. I thought I'd at least deserve a hello. Maybe a hug," he half smiled. He was dressed in his normal color palette. Black. Black jeans. Black v-neck t-shirt. Black leather jacket. Black boots. That was typical Damon fashion. His eyes were more cloudy than usual, he was upset.

"Sorry, there was a lot of people. I just couldn't make it around to everyone. Now can you please go, we can catch up tomorrow. I'm not really dressed for company right now, and I'm way too tired to argue." Elena located her comb and walked back towards the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She listened as he took a few steps, but eventually could no longer hear him. She was safe to bathe in peace now, so she did. When she was out, dressed, and cleaned up, she sleepily yawned and grabbed her phone before she laid in bed. She dialed Matt's number before throwing the covers around her. He answered on the third ring.

"Hey, you. How's it going so far," he asked softly.

"Decent. Caroline threw a welcoming party for me. So much fun," she said dryly.

"Missing home yet, or me," Matt laughed.

"No way, of course not." Elena loved to tease him. He could take a joke, and she loved that. She asked him about his day, the bar, all of the usual things before starting to doze off on the phone. When she realized her struggle to stay awake she decided it was a good time to get off the phone and actually sleep, so she did. Sleep just wasn't coming as easily to her now as it was. She laid in the dark staring at the ceiling before picking up her phone again, and dialing out another number. One she hadn't used in over two years.


	9. Chapter 9

"Lena," shock filled his voice.

"Hey," she said hesitantly.

"Damon who are you talking to! It's too late for people to be calling," Elena heard Katherine's voice yelling in the background.

"Don't bitch, Kit-Kat. It's Elena. I'll only be a few minutes," he replied to her. Elena smiled slightly as she heard her the girls descending tone chastising him on the other end of the line, but he remained steady.

"Didn't think I'd hear from you again for a while. What's on your pretty little mind," he asked her quietly. Elena wasn't sure why she called him, the best reason she could come up with was that she just simply wanted to talk to him. She missed him. She had given him a hard time the last few moments they had together, and she felt bad for it. After all, they had been best friends since high school. It felt good to reconnect with him.

"I missed you," she she stated, simply.

"Well we both know how much I have missed you. I came all the way to California to bring your ass home, but you're just now coming around." Elena smiled at the thought of him missing her as well. She knew he had, but he also had other things to worry about now as well, like a wife. They couldn't go back to how they used to be, and she hated that. She wanted more than anything to spend the night watching movies with him again, and eating enough junk food to satisfy an elephant, but that was a thing of the past.

"I just needed to hear your voice. Also, I needed to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't push you out like that just because I'm bitter."

"No, what you shouldn't have done is move a thousand miles away just because you were jealous." His blunt comment stung a little. She didn't reply for a little bit.

"I'm sorry, you could say I'm a little bitter too," he admitted.

"You have a right to be too. I couldn't handle being kicked out of your life, so I left. It was like I had everything together, and I was happy. Then you brought Kat in and completely replaced me. We didn't talk anymore, we didn't hang out together anymore, it was always about Katherine. So I left because I needed to move on with my life." Elena was shocked she had said that much. Her emotions were catching up to her. She needed to get off the phone soon.

"I get that. I did kind of replace you for a while I guess. Not that I really meant to. It's just Katherine was new to me and I didn't want to screw everything up with her, but that made me screw everything up with you, which was worse. Now I don't even know what the hell happened to my life. I'm out a best friend, married to a raging bitch, and work my ass off every single day with nothing to show for it," he huffed.

"Then make a new life. That's what I did. Now I'm doing pretty good," Elena stifled a short laugh.

"I bet you are. It's not that easy for me Lena. I'm in too deep. I wouldn't even know where to start on this one."

"Start by coming over. Right now. You can start by trying to fix us." She didn't wait for an answer. She hung up, giving him no other option but to show up. Elena hopped out of bed and slipped a sweatshirt over her camisole. She didn't want to show too much skin when Damon arrived, or did she. Maybe she could patch things up with him and start taking their relationship in a new direction. What the hell was she thinking. This is exactly what she hadn't wanted. She was letting her heart get ahead of herself again. She returned to her previous actions, and stared up at the ceiling following the outlines of the room. Thunder rolled in the distance.

 _Rain pounded against the bedroom window. Tree branches smacked against the side of her house wildly from the wind. Ever since her parents' accident thunderstorms were one of Elena's biggest fears. Normally Damon would stay on the phone with her throughout the nights when they occurred, but they had recently went through a rough patch of numerous fights involving his new prissy girlfriend, of course. Elena had to suffer through this storm alone. She was far too prideful to crawl into bed with her aunt Jenna and ride out the storm with her, so she buried herself under the covers and tried to drown out the claps of thunder with her radio. Tears welled in her eyes as the flashbacks of the crash played on repeat behind her tightly shut eyelids._

 _The bed caved in slightly to her left and before she knew it the she was being ripped from the cave her comforter had created around her. Not knowing what was going on, all she could manage to do was scream at the top of her lungs. A hand slapped across her mouth quickly, muting the sound._

" _Shhh, Lena it's just me. Do you want to wake Jenna and get me thrown out of here," Damon whispered to her. He wrapped her in a tight hug and she shook against his chest. He leaned back against the headboard and pulled the blanket back up around them. Gently, he ran his hand down her hair trying to soothe her._

" _What are you doing here? You're mad at me. I thought you'd be home laughing about this," she looked up into his crystal blue irises. He laughed softly and shook his head._

" _You think that just because I'm mad at you I'm going to let you suffer alone? Yeah, I might be pissed about you ruining my date with Rebekah, but what kind of friend would I be if I let you ride out this scary storm by yourself? Just try and go to sleep, I won't leave." He held her tighter and placed his chin on top of her head. It was amazing how much safer she felt just because of this simple gesture. She smiled now. Thousands of butterflies attacked her stomach as she buried her head back into him. The loud bangs of thunder started to fade into the music, the lightning that once lit up her room, now didn't phase her one bit. Elena closed her eyes and embraced the sleepy trance that had been knocking at her brain._

An hour had passed since she had hung up the phone. Seeing as how Damon lived only a couple minutes away in town she had given up hope that he was actually going to stop by. She could thank Katherine for it too most likely. Had she really thought it would be anything different, though. Kat still had him wrapped around her fingers as tightly as she could manage. Elena huffed and rolled over on her side to face the far, windowless wall. The little red numbers on the bedside digital clock read 2:45. Music still thumped from down stairs. There was no telling how long that party would last.

A small knock came from outside her bedroom door. She sat up quickly. Damon opened the door slightly and snuck in through the tight opening. He shut the door behind him. Elena threw the covers off and ran to him. She jumped up into his arms and wrapped her long legs around his waist. He caught and held her there easily, laughing the entire time.

"If I remember correctly last time we were in this position it was far from just being a friendly manner,: he smirked, looking up into her doe brown eyes. Her long brown hair hung down around them. She pulled him as closely to her as possible.

"I'm so sorry. I just missed you. I didn't think you'd really come. How did you even get out? Didn't Kat say anything to you?" Elena pushed questions at him as she tried processing the fact that he was actually here in her arms. She giggled as he dropped her back onto the floor and kissed her cheek. She could feel the electricity flowing through her body from the simple peck.

"So many questions, Lena. Can't you just be glad I am here. It wasn't an easy task I'll tell you that, but very worth it. I needed to see you," he whispered as he pushed her hair behind her ear. Tears of joy were welling up in her eyes. So many emotions flooded around her. She was so happy to see Damon. She missed him more than anyone here, but she would never be able to have him the way that she wanted him, and she would have to find a way to accept that. She needed not only to mend their broken friendship tonight, she needed to find closure with him.

"I am glad," she grinned up at him.

"So what now? Traumatic talk first and then another extremely hot make out session like at that little bar of yours," he teased her. She went and plopped down cross legged on the bed. Damon turned on the bedside lamp before crawling on the bed to lay on his back beside her. He looked all cool and calm while Elena was extremely jittery inside.

"I don't even want to talk about it. I was drunk, Damon. How about we just start from the beginning. Go ahead and hash out the feelings and get it out of the way." Damon winked at her and smiled playfully.

"Well first things first, I'm extremely pissed you left me here with all of these stupid ass people to make my own bad decisions. I had to hunt you down all the way across the damn country. You look totally different from the little innocent angel you used to be. And you're into some jock looking dumbass, who I can't stand even in the slightest. Raw enough for you," he looked up at the ceiling and crinkled his nose. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Well we knew all of this already. I transformed Damon. I think I look better than ever thank you very much. Just to be fair you would've made your own decisions anyways, you are the most stubborn person in the world. And hey, Matt's not that bad, I think there might be a good future for us," Elena tried to believe her own lie. Of course she cared for Matt, but she was struggling to fall in love with him. It just wasn't there yet, she didn't know if it ever would be there, she could only hope. Damon shook his head.

"If you were here I never would have married Kat. It's been the second biggest mistake of my life. She's horrible Elena. Other than being drop dead gorgeous, she has no other redeeming qualities. I even caught her flirting around with Stefan one night. I mean what the hell? We both know I'm the better looking brother here." Elena set her lips in an adorable pout.

"Maybe if you wouldn't have been such an asshole about Kat in the first place I wouldn't have left. Then we would still be sharing that little apartment downtown and having movie nights, but no. You decided I was the one you would rather do without and pushed me away." Elena looked away from Damon, trying to focus on pretty much anything else but him.

"Then again, if you didn't leave you wouldn't have come back this sexy," he winked playfully. She smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Listen, Lena, I'm sorry for taking you for granted. You know you're my girl. Hell I wouldn't even be here right now if you weren't so important to me. I know you have a hard time believing that but I promise you this entire week that you're here I'll be with you. I will drive you nuts. I will make you believe me. I will make you want to stay. I don't care what Kat says or does, but I'm not losing my best friend again," he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Now how about that makeout session," Damon propped himself up on the bed with his arm. She couldn't tell by the tone of his voice if he was serious or not, but she was betting on the jest. She giggled and swatted him lightly. She pulled the duvet up and over her body, getting comfortable.

"I need to get some rest, D. Call me tomorrow..okay," her voice gave the comment away as more of a hopeful question. Damon crawled up next to her, kissed her forehead, and slid back off of the bed. He turned the light out and made his way towards the door. Just before he stepped out into the hallway she whispered something almost inaudible to him.

"Thank you, Damon. I love you."


	10. Chapter 10

The afternoon sun rays peeked through the lace curtains' tiny holes and into Elena's eyes, finally waking her up. Her hair was a complete mess, and her covers were everywhere but on herself. She stepped off the bed, stopping to adjust herself to the cold hardwood floors. She stretched out her back and arms, and then made her way down to the kitchen for some much needed breakfast. Red solo cups littered the floor and counter tops. Elena laughed to herself as she thought of the fit Caroline would be throwing once she awoke to find such a mess in her house. She snooped around the cabinets for some kind of food, but ended up settling for a crunchy mess of "gluten free" cereal. It wasn't the best, but it was food none the less. Once she finished she rinsed out her bowl and went back up to the room to get ready for the day. Her phone was buzzing as she entered. She ran over to her bedside table to grab it before it rang out to voicemail.

"Hey, hello," she asked, hoping it wasn't too late.

"Good morning sunshine," Matt called out.

"Matt, it's like seven am there right now. What are you doing up," she groaned.

"You seem to forget I have a business to run. I have to be an early riser. I just thought I'd call and check up on you this morning."

"Well nothing has changed since I talked to you last night. I actually just got out of bed. Might go out and do some shopping, go see a few more friends, I'm not totally sure yet."

"That's good. It's weird to think you're all the way on the east coast right now. It's been one night and I'm already ready for you to come back home," Matt chuckled.

"I'll be back before you know it, trust me. Well I'm going to get off of here and get myself going. I'll talk to you later, kay," she felt like she was rushing him off.

"Okay, bye Lena." When Matt finally hung up she let out a deep breath. He was already trying to smother her. Calling her both before she went to bed, and when she got out of it. Hopefully this wouldn't be an every day occurrence.

She took her time in the shower, enjoying the hot spray of the water. The minty scent of her shampoo filled the bathroom as she scrubbed it in her hair. Once she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her she drug the comb through her knotted hair and applied her makeup. She sifted through her clothes and pulled out a nice fit and flare white sundress. Might as well try and look as pretty as possible while she was down here. Show everyone that California had been good to her. It was very evident by her appearance that she was much healthier now than ever. Her skin that was once a constant olive tone was now lightly tanned, her hair had lightened up, and her delicate tattoos now brought out a new character to her. She realized once she was done primping, she was all dressed up with nowhere to go.

She could hear someone awake down stairs by now. Judging by the lack of a hissy fit it had to be Stefan. Elena grabbed her phone, purse, and wedges and went to go greet him. As soon as she stepped off of the bottom step and into his view, his eyes got visibly wider for a moment before returning to normal.

"You look nice Elena, going somewhere," he inquired. She fiddled around with her things before flashing him her most persuasive smile.

"I would if I had somewhere to go, and somehow to get there," she batted her long eyelashes.

"Take my car, I'm off til Wednesday. Just don't wreck it. And if you happen to run into Damon, don't let him smoke in it." With that, he tossed her the keys and she thanked him graciously. Then she realized what he had said. Don't let Damon smoke in it? Since when was he a smoker. Seems like Damon left out a lot of his story last night. He had said he was upset, but what would drive him to cope with cigarettes. He had always deemed it a disgusting habit, and assured her it was one he would never take up. Turns out, he lied.

Elena slid her shoes on and went out front to find Stefan's car. His little red Porsche stood out immediately and she unlocked it. Th car roared to life under her. She felt like a million bucks in that moment. Who really got to drive a car like this anymore? Today, her. She decided to head into town and grab some lunch at The Grill and then maybe make a stop at the cemetery. She felt guilty for not having been by the visit her parents' grave in two years, granted she was in California.

The Grill was packed with the usual lunch crowd, but despite the crowd Elena found a seat at the bar rather quickly. Liv, the bar maid, took her order and started on her drink. Elena looked around, seeing how much had changed while she was away. Nothing at all really, other than the new wait staff, and different bar stools. Bonnie, one of Elena's closest friends now worked there. After she noticed her, she realized she had not been at the party last night. She hadn't seen her yet. There's no way she hadn't known Elena was visiting, almost everyone knew. When you live in a town as small as Mystic Falls, every event, every rumor spreads like wildfire.

"Bonnie," Elena called out as she left a couple's table near the back. She smiled and frantically waved to her friend. Bonnie looked up, but then cast her eyes back down just as quickly. Well, that went great. A young man took the seat next to her.

"Well if it's not Miss Elena Gilbert," his voice was deep, but kind. She looked over at him, taking him in.

"Oh my gosh, Tyler Lockwood. Look at you all dressed up in uniform. I guess the Police Academy spit you back out on the right side of the law now," she smiled.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Gilbert. What have you gotten yourself into. I heard you moved out West."

"I did. I'm helping my friend run a bar right now. It's pretty fun most of the time, but the job gets old after a while."

"I know all about that. Liv complains about it every night. She hates it, but it helps pay the bills. You'd think cops get paid more than they actually do. Not the case. It actually kinda sucks too. You have to put up with everyone's crap all the time. Your boy Damon can't seem to stay out of it lately. Straighten him up while you're in town, will ya?"

Elena put on her best fake smile and nodded. What the hell was going on with Damon? In one day she had found out about his smoking habit, and now run ins with the police. Things really must have been rough on him. Speaking of, she would be giving him a call soon. It was well passed the afternoon and he hadn't bothered to try and meet up with her like he had promised the night before.

Live brought her food and set it in front of her. Elena nodded and smiled in her direction. Liv turned her attention to Tyler, placing a quick kiss on his lips before rambling about the rude guys at the other end of the bar. How cute, she thought. Elena popped a few fries in her mouth and distracted herself by twirling the alcohol around in her glass.

"Drinking without me I see," an all too familiar voice rang out from behind her. Elena smiled before spinning around to greet him.

"You stalking me," Elena cocked her eyebrow at him playfully. Damon looked handsome in his navy blue button down and dark wash jeans. His hair was naturally messy. He flagged Liv down and ordered a bottle of top shelf Bourbon before taking a seat on the other side of Elena.

"Hitting it heavy this early," she questioned him. He smiled lazily at her and nodded. His baby blue eyes glistened in the dim lighting of the room. Liv returned with his Bourbon and two small shot glasses. He poured a few shots, sliding one to Elena. She pushed it back to him, shaking her head.

"Not right now. Maybe a little later. It's too early for me," she insisted. Damon shrugged and downed both shots himself.

"You'll come around in the next few minutes or so. Believe it or not, I didn't know you'd be here and agreed to meet Katherine for a late lunch. She should be here soon. You still have time to escape if you'd like." His tone was light, but his eyes told a different story. Something was bothering him. She was about to take up his offer and agree to meet up later, but she was too late. The double doors swung open and in walked the she devil herself. Katherine was all dolled up in a tight cocktail dress and heels. Her dark brown hair was high, and her long nails were perfectly manicured, as per usual. A tight feline grin was on her face until she spotted Elena next to Damon. If looks could kill, that would've done Elena in right then and there. She pulled a waiter aside and asked for a table, for two, Elena assumed. Next, she made her way to the bar.

"Elena." Her green eyes pierced daggers into Elena. She coyly walked up to Damon and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She moved to his side and turned his face to meet hers. As sensually as she could she kissed him hard, biting his lower lip and pulling it out slightly. This was all an act. She just wanted to rub the fact that she could do whatever she wanted with Damon into her face. She hit a nerve, so obviously Katherine's plan had worked. Elena grabbed the filled shot glass and threw it back before standing up and walking away from the bar. Damon reached out for her.

"Lena, don't go. Come on," he begged her. Katherine was still hanging around his shoulders, never taking her eyes off of Elena. This was stupid. Elena decided the minute that woman had walked through the door that this wasn't worth it.

"Yeah E-lena, we have missed you so much please don't leave us again. Or go. Either one suits me just fine," Katherine remarked sarcastically.

" I'm just going to go. I'll see you guys around. I have things to do." Elena's voice was cold, and she meant it to be. She wanted it to hurt Damon. With that, she walked out and back to Stefan's car. When she sat down all of the rage from inside had finally hit her. She hit the steering wheel with both hands before turning the car on and driving away. She found herself driving to the cemetery, but not willing herself to get out. She hadn't been here in so long. She had nothing to say to the headstones. Not anything that mattered anyways. It wasn't her parents. It was a rock, stuck there taunting her, reminding her that they were dead. That they couldn't hear her apologies anyways. So she stayed in the car and rested her head on the steering wheel.

She hadn't missed California yet until this moment. When she was there she never had to worry about this depression washing over her. Here, it was just one thing after the other piling on. Elena put the car in drive and turned around to go back to the house. Her phone rang a few times, but she dismissed it. She didn't feel like talking to anyone just yet.

When she pulled in the boarding house driveway, she noticed Caroline's car was there too. Finally she would be able to have some girl time with her. Elena threw the car in park and grabbed her belongings before rushing in to the house. Caroline was sprawled out on the couch when Elena walked in. She looked absolutely drained.

"What happened to you? I think someone needs a drink," Elena tried to be extra cheery, despite her dwindling mood. She grabbed a bottle of wine, and two glasses from the kitchen and filled them up with the red liquid. She handed one over to Caroline, who slowly sat up and accepted the drink.

"You're a life saver. I had a long day at work. It seems like there's always one complaint after another." Caroline ran her own interior design business, and her most recent job was on Mayor Lockwood's Mansion. According to Caroline, Carol, the Mayor's wife, was being extremely nit picky with each renovation Caroline had suggested, in turn driving her nuts.

"My beautiful blond hair is falling out because she's stressing me out so much! This is bad Elena. Geeze I'm sorry. You come down here to visit and all I am doing is working, and bitching. I'm sure that's not what you were looking forward to." Caroline set her drink down and massaged her temples with her finger tips. Elena shrugged and took another swig of wine.

"I promise I'll take a day off this week and we will go shopping, and get mani pedis, and have a full out girl's day. No work, no drama, and no guys. But for now, I need to get dinner started, so I can eat, drown myself in another bottle of wine, and then sleep." Caroline hugged Elena and sauntered off into the kitchen. Elena went upstairs to the guest room and locked herself in. She changed into her pajamas early, turned the TV on, and tuned it to some cheesy romantic comedy. She laid in bed watching it until he phone started ringing again. Elena rolled her eyes as Damon's name popped up on the screen, but she reluctantly answered it.

"What," she said bluntly.

"What's wrong now. I know Kat was out of line earlier, but you don't have to take it out on me. Let me come get you. We can go out, or take a walk. Anything. Just let me see you," Damon pleaded.

"I'm busy right now, Damon. You saw me earlier. You're fine," Elena sighed heavily, not wanting to drag on this conversation.

"You are such a liar. You're locked in your room, in your pajamas, probably boring yourself with some movie. Anything could be better than that." She had to admit, he knew her well. That didn't mean she was giving in.

"Actually, I'm on the other line with Matt. He was just telling me how much he misses me and what we are going to do when I get back home Sunday," she tried her best to feign a stuck up demeanor.

"Well get off the phone. I'm down stairs, and I'm coming up right now. Caroline's in on it, I told her you had a rough day, blame her." He hung up. She could hear his boots pounding against the stairs as he ascended them. The door was locked, he couldn't get in, nice try though. He wiggled the door handle.

"Elena open the door," he demanded.

"Go away. I don't want company right now." She stuck true to her stubborn roots.

"Elena open the door right now, or so help me God, I will kick it in." Elena still didn't budge. He wouldn't actually do it. Caroline would kill him before he broke her house.

"I'm being serious here. I'll give you until the count of three or this door is coming down. One. Two..." Elena hopped out of bed and swung the door open just as he was raising up his foot. Her expression was far from amused. She simply turned around, and went back to sit in bed.

"Well now that that's taken care of," Damon spoke to no one in particular. He closed the door behind him and walked over to join Elena. He kicked off his boots as he raised his legs to lounge on the bed.

"So I would apologize, but seeing as I did nothing wrong this time I'm not going to." Damon stuck his hands behind his head and leaned back against the headboard. Elena rolled her eyes again, and focused back on the TV screen. She tried her best to ignore him. They sat in silence until the credit rolled, and she no longer had any excuse to avoid him.

"What do you want Damon. Go home to Katherine. I'm sure she wants you around," she said bitterly.

"You want me here too, or else you would've kicked me out by now."

"I tried, but your stubborn ass refused. So I let you stay by default,"

"Elena don't sit here and argue with me. I've had to miss you for two years. I didn't get to speak with you for two years. My life went down the drain...in two years. You have no idea how much power you have over me, and it's driving me nuts that you just keep trying to push me away," Damon's dam of emotions broke, and he was the tidal wave. Elena just looked down at her hands in silence.

"You are the one who left me. You are the one who didn't give a shit about me. You moved over a thousand miles away without even saying one word to me. How do you think I handled that? Going from being inseparable, to just poof-gone. Two whole years. You were living it up in that bar of yours, while I was here miserable trying to take on a family business I didn't even want, and trying to force myself to be in love with Katherine." Damon was sitting up straight now. His electric eyes were wild, his face was flushed. He was losing his temper.

"Damon. Stop it. I left because I needed to. I couldn't sit there and watch you and Katherine all over each other every single day. When she convinced you to move out and stay away from me, I thought our friendship was over. It broke my heart and I wasn't healing. I would see you at bars, and you wouldn't speak to me. I would call your phone, just to get your voice mail. I pushed you away because you tossed me aside like garbage once Kat came into the picture. Don't deny it." Elena wouldn't make eye contact with him. She was shaking slightly from her nerves. She didn't like confronting these feelings with him, because he didn't feel the way she did. He didn't understand.

"You could've stayed Elena. Things would've gotten better. You just had to hit that little bump in the road, but you couldn't handle it so you fled."

"Would they have gotten better? Tell me, would you have acknowledged my existence again after a few months of ignoring the shit out of me? You know what. If we are going to fight about this, I'll just go ahead and tell you everything. Better to be pissed at me now for the right reasons, than to hate me for the wrong ones. I loved you. I've loved you ever since high school, but did you ever take into account my feelings? No. You dated a new girl every week. At least that wasn't as horrible as Katherine. Katherine was your downfall. She is the one that ruined our friendship. You knew deep down it was her fault, and what do you do? You go and marry her! That just makes it all better, right? I might have made mistakes, but all of them stemmed from loving you." Elena spat out the last sentence. Immediately she regretted saying it, all of it. She could see the anger in his eyes transform into complete devastation.

"So you resent me for not loving you the way that you did, or do, me. Maybe you should've just stayed in California after all. I wanted you to come back home to me, but not if we are just going to hurt each other more. It's best for both of us if we just stay far apart." Without another word, or even a glance, he got up and left. She didn't hear from him again that night.


	11. Chapter 11

Once again Elena found herself emotionally locked in bed. She listened as both Caroline and Stefan left the house that morning, but she wouldn't so much as budge. She checked her phone often. Nothing from Matt yet. Nothing from Damon. This could possibly turn out to be a good thing, right? Now that Damon knows how she feels, maybe he will just make it easy on her and keep away. She rolled on her stomach and buried her face into the pillow. She could hear the front door open. Stefan had returned, and hopefully bearing breakfast. Some sugary, fattening, preferably chocolate doughnuts had the possibility of changing her morning for the better. Elena righted herself in the bed, ready to get up and head down to the kitchen.

Heavy footsteps ascended the stairs. Two light knocks sounded, and the door slowly squeeked open. Messy black hair, and bright blue eyes peeked around the door at her. Elena's hopeful smile noticeably dropped. Her forehead wrinkled as she puckered her face in a small pout.

"Wakey, wakey, Lena," Damon said childishly.

"Go away." She laid back down, pulling the covers up and over her head. He walked over to the bed to join her. Light engulfed her as the blankets were ripped away from the bed.

"Can't you just leave me alone. You tell me we need to stay far away from each other, and then you come barreling in here. You don't make any sense," she growled. Damon plopped down onto the mattress next to her. He laid back, stationing his arms behind his head. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Well I thought about it, and knowing your stubborn ass you probably actually would stay away, and we can't have that. I came here last night to apologize and catch up, and neither one ended up happening, so I took the day off from hell and came here instead. You are going to spend the entire day with me, like it or not," he grinned. Elena rolled over, now facing the wall. She was going to try her best to ignore him. Eventually he would get annoyed and leave.

"No, no, no, none of that. Come here," he rested his chin on her shoulder as his arm draped lazily in front her. She tried to squirm her way out of it, but it failed. He positioned himself behind her so that she couldn't make an escape. His fingers found her ribcage and dug in. An instant smile came across her face, as she laughed uncontrollably. The attack continued until she surrendered and turned his way. She adjusted herself comfortably against his shoulder.

"That's what I thought," he teased.

"You cheated."

"But it worked, didn't it." Damon looked up at her and smiled, obviously feeling satisfied. Elena rolled her eyes again and sighed heavily. He leaned his head down against hers.

"Katherine would be mad if she knew you were in bed with me," she laughed. Damon considered this for a moment, but shook his head.

"She would probably kill me if she knew how many times we have shared a bed. She thinks I'm at work," he raised his eyebrows.

"Then shouldn't you be at work."

"Quit trying to run me off. Today, you are more important. I was an ass last night, plus I haven't gotten to spend any real time with you yet, so just shut up and enjoy my presence."

She cuddled up closer and tilted her head back to look into his eyes. She expected his normal arrogant smirk, but was met instead by a pair of deep, sad, blue eyes. She kissed his cheek and re-positioned herself back down onto his shoulder.

"I've missed you every day, y'know," his voice was more hollow now. Elena didn't know what to say, so she nodded instead.

"When I first heard you left I thought it was some joke, and you hadn't really gone anywhere, but then I couldn't find you. Caroline told me. We both thought it wouldn't last long, but you never came back. You never said goodbye."

"I couldn't, Damon. I knew if I tried to I wouldn't follow through with it. Besides, you weren't even speaking to me at the time. When you moved out of our apartment, it's like you were breaking all ties to me for Kat."

"She knew you loved me. She wouldn't let it go, so it was a leave or be left situation. I was in love with her. If I was smarter, I would've just let her go then. She has tore my life to pieces, Lena."

"Then why did you marry her?"

"It's a very long, depressing story. Let's not talk about it right now. I came here to have a good day with you, so let's get up and get to it," he sat up, pulling her with him. She groaned and ran a hand through her messy hair. It would take an hour to look even half way decent this morning.

"Can't we just stay here. I've been going everywhere lately. I just want to lay here and relax for once," she whined. Damon scrunched his brow at her, but gave in and laid back down.

"Only if you promise me that later you will let me take you out to dinner." he bargained. She smiled and nodded her head.

"So what's the plan. Movie? Breakfast? Sex," Damon laughed. Elena glared at him playfully.

"Let's just lay here and talk. I don't care what about. It can be sad, or happy, or even just about nothing. Damon, I've missed your voice, and I've missed your stories. I don't want to ruin this day just watching movies we will eventually forget, or snacking on food that will inevitably make us fat." He got up from the bed long enough to close the door and kick his boots off along with his leather jacket. He crawled back up next to her and crashed down into the pillows.

"So talk. How's your new life going so far," he put extra emphasis on the "new."

"No, I want to hear you talk."

"And I want to hear you talk, so spill it. We can take turns, Lena."

"Fine. It's good, different. I actually work in a bar. Did you expect that? It's funny because when I left I hadn't made any kind of plans. I was planning on hotel hopping for the first few weeks, but then I met Matt on the connecting flight there. He has helped me out a lot, you'd like him Damon."

"Huh, well I don't know about that. I doubt I'll ever get to meet him seeing as how I'm not letting you go back there again, ever. You've left me for long enough. And, no. You have changed so much, I don't know what to expect anymore," he chuckled.

"I'm going back in a few days. You can come visit me next. I don't have much, though. Just a little studio above the bar, but you already know that. How about these, do you like," Elena stretched out her arms, showing off her new ink.

"I do. It's...sexy. It suits you," he traced his finger up her left arm, following the trail the delicate tattoos had made.

"I have a few more, but you won't get to see those," she winked.

"I'm sure I will one day. All I have to do is get you drunk again and you'll be practically throwing your clothes at me."

"Shut up. That was horrible. Why were you even there? How did you find me?"

"Stefan. Caroline wouldn't tell me. She said you were better off without me, so I had to dig it out of him. I didn't plan on Katherine coming along, but she insisted. Man, that was a rough night. She almost murdered me outside of that bar of yours. It took a lot of ass kissing, literally, to get her to forgive me," he winked.

"Ew. I should've known one of them would give me up." Elena clicked the Tv on. She needed some kind of background noise, or this would just get awkward. Plus, if things got too bad, she could fain interest in it instead.

"I'm glad I found you. You probably wouldn't be back here if I hadn't."

"Probably not. I bet Matt is worried sick about me. I told him how much I hated this place. He's probably sitting at the bar, eating our usual, and missing me right now."

"Sucks for him. You're mine now. He can't have you back." Damon pulled her to him, laughing the entire time. He kissed he side of her head before letting go.

"If we are doing this whole lazy day in bed thing, I'll need coffee to make sure I don't fall asleep. You want some," he offered. Elena nodded and hopped out of bed. She considered finding more clothes, but as her stomach growled she figured her tank top and pajamas shorts were just going to have to do. Damon smiled, and walked with her down to the kitchen. She hopped up on one of the counters as he dug around trying to find the coffee and filters. Eventually he found it, and set the machine. Minutes later dark liquid began trickling in to the pot below.

'So I've heard some things about you lately. Care to explain," Elena asked pointedly.

"Depends on what it is."

"Tyler Lockwood told me about how you are constantly in trouble. Also, Stefan kind of let it slip that you smoke now. What is going on?"

"Oh, yeah. Well no, I'm not always in trouble. I've just had a few misunderstandings at the bar while intoxicated. That's all. Smoking? Caught me. In my defense I've had a lot of stress on me, and it helps calm me down."

"Damon that's so unlike you. Fighting, I could expect. Smoking, though, was never your thing."

"It was after I lost you," he admitted.

"Well I'm here now. So is that a good enough reason to quit?"

"It would be, but you aren't here for good. I'll probably just pick it back up again when you leave."

"Damon, come here." She held her arms out to him. He walked over and into her embrace. She hugged him closely to her and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his own muscular arms around her too, resting against her body.

"I know you don't want me to go back, but I have to. My life is there now. You've made a life here with Kat, and one day you will have kids, and be successful, and happy, and probably forget all about needing me around again."

"I thought I had that. All of it, but I'll never not need you Elena. You've been in my life for so long that when you're gone it just feels like a big part of me is missing."

"What?"

"You know you feel that way too, so don't act like it's not true, Lena."

"No, not that. You had all of that? When? I'm confused. You did hear me say kids right?"

"Loud and clear. I told you, it's a long, depressing story. I'm not going to spoil our day by getting into it."

"Damon just talk to me. I know you haven't to anyone else, or I would've heard something. Believe it or not, I asked Caroline and Stefan about you all of the time."

"Elena, it's hard to talk about. I can't."

"Trust me, it'll feel much better when you do. I'm not going to push you. Tell me when you're ready. It could be now, or tomorrow, or even next year."

"I will one day. Thanks, babe."

Damon pulled away to prepare their drinks. Elena hopped off of the counter next to him.

"You shouldn't call me that anymore. You're married now. She's you're babe," Elena joked to him. He grunted, but didn't respond. Minutes later, he handed her a mug of coffee.

"You know just how I like it," she boasted.

"And you know how I like mine."

"Yours is easy. Black. Takes no effort," she giggled.

"I think after this cup, I'm going to head out for a little bit. I'll be back later, though. I promised you dinner." His smile seemed forced. Something was bothering him, but he was trying his best to hide it. She wouldn't let him know she could still see right through him.

"Ok. If you insist. I might just go back to bed for a little bit, or call Matt. I'm not sure yet. When will you be back?"

"Just give me a few hours. It's almost one now, so probably about four or five. I'll take you out then. So get pretty for me." Elena nodded. They sat together at the kitchen table sipping their coffee in silence. Once finished, he rinsed his cup out, and set it in the sink.

"I'll be back later. I promise," he hugged her before walking out.

After a dozen calls, texts, and a few voice mails, Elena gave up. He never showed.


	12. Chapter 12

Elena was so mad that tears began welling up in her eyes. Never had Damon blew her off like this before. If he made plans, he would always show, or at least call and give her a heads up if he wasn't able to. Katherine probably found out and now he's home sucking up to her and begging for her to forgive him. She tried to call again, but nothing. It was nearing eleven o'clock now. Caroline just looked at her with pity in her eyes. Elena had gotten all dressed up for tonight, just for him to not show up. Stefan shook his head.

When all hope was about to be lost, her phone started ringing. Unknown number.

"Hello," she sighed.

"Elena. It's Katherine. I can't find Damon, I haven't heard from him all day. I figured he was probably with you." Elena instantly felt like a jackass. What if something had happened to him? She was all but ready to kill him, when in reality, he might already be dead!

"Have you went out and checked anywhere yet? He might just be drunk at the grill."

"I tried there already. I don't know where he's gone. He's been falling back into depression again, but he's never just not come home without a word before. Ever since we lost Grace, it's like you never know what's going on with him. He was unpredictable before, but now he's a ticking time bomb. We need to find him, I'm calling the cops." Katherine quickly cut the line. Elena was left sitting there with her mouth hanging open. Caroline cocked her head at her.

"What's going on," she asked.

"It was Katherine. Damon is MIA and she asked if he was here," she replied bluntly.

"Oh no," Caroline brought her hand to cover her mouth.

"I'm going out to look for him, Caroline we will take your car. Elena, take my car and you go too. He could be wrecked, or anything right now." Stefan rushed to put on his house shoes and jacket. He tossed Elena his keys.

"Katherine called the police, so I guess they'll be out looking for him too. I'll call you if I hear anything." Elena grabbed her things and ran out to the car. She fired it up, and sped out into the night. She drove all around Mystic Falls, checking a few friends' houses, checking The Grill, even the back roads. No sign of him whatsoever. Mystic Falls wasn't that big, so unless he left town, he couldn't go very far. Her phone buzzed from the center console. Damon.

"Where the hell are you," she growled.

"I'm sorry I didn't come back. I couldn't Elena. You don't understand. Please don't be mad at me," his words were starting to slur.

"Damon, I'm not mad. Just tell me where you are. I will come get you."

"No, no you'll tell Katherine where I am. I don't want to go home. You'll take me home."

"I won't. I'll bring you back to the boarding house. Stefan won't care. I'm worried about you, let me come get you," Elena focused on keeping a steady voice.

"No, Elena. I'm not going to be your problem tonight. Just let me stay out here. I won't be anyone's problem anymore."

"Damon. Tell me where you are. I promise you aren't going to be a problem. I love you, I just want you to be safe."

"You promise you won't take me home?"

"I promise."

"And you won't bring Katherine?"

"There's nobody here but me."

"I'm at Steven's Quarry. The one we used to go swim at all of the time."

Elena pushed down on the accelerator. By some miracle, she was already heading in the right direction. It was only about 15 minutes from where she already was.

"Damon, I'll be there soon. Just sit still."

"Please hurry Elena." She hung up the phone. Immediately she regretted her decision. Her brain kept telling her that it was the last time she would talk to him. That she would be too late when she arrived and he would already be sitting at the bottom of the large pond. She dialed Katherine's number.

"I found him. He's drunk off of his ass at a hotel a few towns over. Just let him sober up here, and I'll make sure the staff tells him to head home in the morning. Maybe he just had a rough day at work."

"Oh my. How did you find him? I talked to Gary, the accountant from his father's company earlier, and he never showed up for work today," Katherine huffed, obviously mad now.

"Uh, he told Stefan where he was," she lied.

"I don't know what has gotten into him," Katherine complained, and then hung up. Great talk.

Elena sped up even more. By now, she was almost doubling the speed limit. The turn off for the quarry was approaching, and she slowed down to ensure she wouldn't miss it. The tires threw gravel as she hit the narrow path. Once she got close enough she stopped, threw the car into park, and jumped out. She ran up the incline and searched frantically for Damon. She called out his name. No answer. She ran to the waters edge, peering in to make sure there were no bubbles, or waves.

"Damon!"

Then she saw him. He was sitting up on the highest ledge overlooking the quarry, his feet dangling over the edge, a bottle of Bourbon in his hand. She rolled her eyes and started her trek to the other side. She reached him a few minutes later.

"Damon," she spoke quietly this time.

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it." He motioned out with the bottle still in his hand.

"It is, but don't you think it's a bit dangerous hanging over that cliff and drinking. Come over here."

"No, Elena. You come here. I'm fine. I'm not even that drunk," he slurred. He was definitely that drunk.

"Just come here Damon. I'm cold. I don't have a jacket on and it's nearly 50 degrees out here. Come keep me warm."

It worked. She held out her hand and he finally pushed himself up and over to her. He pulled her shaking body to him. She reached her arms around him, sneaking them under his jacket. His body was warm, but wreaked of alcohol.

"That better," he asked quietly.

"Yes. Much better. What are you doing out here. I was so worried about you. I thought you were dead. Everyone thought you were dead."

"I come out here to think. Usually I don't stay as long. This time the more drunk I got, the worse I felt, so I just stayed. Then I realized I needed you. By that time it also hit me that I was supposed to take you out. I didn't think you'd answer. I'm the worst best friend ever."

"No you aren't. Everything is okay now. I promise."

"I wish it was, but it's not. It will never be okay again. I miss her so much Elena."

"Who Damon?" He pulled away and sat down on the rocky ground, motioning her to follow him. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. He pulled a small, faded picture out of the jacket pocket. It was him, a baby in his arms. He was smiling proudly, showing off that he had lulled the infant to sleep. By the outfit, Elena guessed it was a girl. Going back to what Katherine had said earlier, she assumed this had to be Grace.

"I married Katherine because she got pregnant, Elena. I was so stressed out, and worried, I thought it was the best thing to do. I had to help her take care of it. Grace turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me. I was so happy. She was beautiful.

"What happened," Elena asked, tears already forming in her eyes.

"It was about 8 months ago. Nobody knows. She was perfectly fine one minute, and then gone the next. The doctors called it SIDS, but couldn't figure out why it happened. It was as if her heart just quit beating. Nothing anyone could do about it. It has absolutely wrecked me, Elena."

"Caroline, Stefan, they never told me about it. I had no idea. I'm so sorry Damon." She turned to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. She could feel his unsteady breathing. This was as close to crying as she had ever seen him. He was normally so stoic, so unbreakable, but now he was shattered. He had endured so much pain, and she hadn't even been here for him. She was across the country drinking her life away while he needed her. She felt so selfish. She rubbed her hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him. The two sat in silence, allowing each other to wallow in their own pain.

"Damon, I know it hurts. I'm so proud of you for staying this strong. I promise I'll be here for you one hundred percent of the time for the rest of my life. No matter what."

"You can't, Elena. You're here now, but in two more days you'll be back on a plane headed to California again."

"I'll call you every day. I'll visit as much as I can. I'll always be in your life."

"I need you here."

"You have Katherine. I'm sure she's in pain still too. You need to be there for her as well."

"She didn't even want Grace. I had to talk her out of abortion many times. She got off easy. I can't even look at her the same anymore. I'm just stuck there. I don't know what to do with my life. If I hadn't found you again, I'd probably be dead by now."

This caused Elena to cry more. She shook her head and buried it deeper into his shoulder. She could never imagine her world without Damon. Sure, she pushed him out, but if he were to no longer exist, it would tear her to pieces. He leaned over and popped the cork out of another bottle. He took a strong swig and offered it out to Elena. She followed, doing exactly as he did.

"We need to get home. Come on, we'll freeze to death out here." Damon nodded and gathered his things, including the empty bottles. They walked back to the little red car, and made their way back to the boarding house, Damon draining the rest of the alcohol on the way. When they arrived, Elena had to practically carry him up the stairs and to the guest room. She cleaned him up as much as she could and laid him down. For safe measures she slid the trash can over by his side of the bed, and filled him up a glass of water. Then, she turned out the light and crawled into bed next to him. She closed her eyes, ready to fall asleep, when he spoke her name softly. She turned to him. His hand came to rest on her cheek, and he pulled her closer to him. He pressed his lips gently onto hers. When he pulled away he looked deeply into her confused eyes and smiled. He guided her head down to lay on his chest. Just before she fell asleep she heard him whisper.

"I love you, Elena."


	13. Chapter 13

The two made it peacefully through the night. Elena had expected, and somewhat prepared herself, for Damon to be waking up early puking his guts out, but that never happened. Instead, Elena was awoken by Damon jerking the covers back over to his side of the bed. She groaned loudly as she scrunched her face, getting her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room.

"Why must you take all of the covers at night. Does it occur to you I might get cold as well," Damon's smile was playful. His blue eyes were soft and adoring as he looked over at her. Her cheeks flushed pink, and she cast her eyes down.

"I've missed waking up to you. Messy hair and all." Elena immediately brought her hands to her head and tried to rake through her thick, unruly hair. Damon shook his head.

"It's not like I can wake up and look perfect every morning. It takes serious effort," she joked.

"In that case get up and start getting pretty. I was a shitty friend last night, and pretty much all week, so that means today is going to be our make up day together," he exclaimed.

"Damon, you need to get home to Kat. I don't really understand your feelings and all with her, but I told her I'd make sure you got home to her. She's your wife, I'm just your ex best friend." Elena spoke bluntly, but realized how harsh it actually sounded. She back tracked.

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean, I want you to stay, but you also need to get home. Wait, that still doesn't make sense. What I'm trying to say is...all I really want is for you to stay with me today, but I know the morally right thing would be to go home to Katherine, even if it's just for a little while." Elena had propped her head up with one arm, all the while still facing Damon. He chuckled.

"When have I ever done the right thing Elena. I am a grown man, and I will make my own decisions. I want to be happy today, so that means I'm staying here with you. I'll give her a call from the house phone or something, that should be good enough."

"Kat's going to kill me. You know that, right?" Elena glared at Damon. His wife happened to have a lethal jealousy streak. In other words, if she thought you were a threat to her relationship, she would go from zero to bat shit crazy in a matter of seconds. Damon considered this for a few seconds and shrugged.

"She can't do anything to you, Lena. She knows our marriage is on the rocks already. Is it such a horrible thing for me to be happy while I have the chance?" He spoke cooly and confidently. It almost made Elena believe that even he wasn't worried about the consequences. Elena nodded.

"Well I'm going to grab some coffee downstairs. You get cleaned up, do your thing, and I'll be back up soon with yours," he said, finally getting up from the bed. Elena smiled, and also hopped up. She made her way to the bathroom as he was shutting the bedroom door behind him. The hot steam from the shower filled the room, and clouded the wall sized mirror hanging above the marble sinks. She couldn't decide how she was feeling, and so far the shower wasn't helping. She was sure about one thing, though. She loved Damon. She was sure she always would. The last two years of "moving on" had quickly washed down the drain with just this one week back home. Matt ,undeniably, still held a big place in her heart, but not in the same way Damon did. As much as she pushed herself to find feelings with Matt, it wasn't coming clicking into place.

Sunday was coming up fast and she would have to leave again soon. It was already Friday. Where did she stand with Damon? Did he really love her the same way the she did him? If so, was she willing to take the risk and uproot again to come back home? After all she had done to change, and get out of her former life, now all she wanted to do was crawl back into it and never leave again. How would she tell Matt? How would she tell Damon? If he was staying with her all day, she might as well hash it out tonight and then deal with Matt by Saturday night.

With clothes changed, teeth brushed, and hair wrapped up in a towel Elena stepped back into the bedroom to cool down. The humid air that was still trapped in the bathroom had been suffocating her. She took her comb from the dresser and sat down at the small wooden vanity situated in the corner of the room. She pulled the towel away and began working the comb through her hair. Damon, being the gentleman, knocked and slowly opened the door, making sure she was proper before barging in. He offered a steaming mug of coffee to her, but instead placed it on the vanity beside her.

"So..." he paused.

"I called Kat. She is furious. Said she called damn near every hotel in a 60 mile radius to find the one I was supposedly at and had no luck. So I told her I was here, and not to expect me home anytime soon. Was that too much. It seems kind of mean." Damon didn't look worried, more amused than anything. He chuckled at the thought of being "too mean." He usually didn't have a caring bone in his body for anyone but himself, Elena, and on a rare occasion, Stefan. Elena shook her head and laughed.

"Oh, and Caroline was waiting to go out with you today. Took off work and all, but I told her you were mine. We made a compromise on dinner. So we have to be back by then."

"Damon! I didn't know she took off work to stay with me today. I feel awful about blowing her off."

"You'll see her tonight, Lena. We are having dinner here with her and Stefan. We can even come back early and you can help her cook if that will make you feel better. Actually, I take that back. I'll help her cook, you might burn the house down."

"Okay, deal. So what's our plans for the day," Elena asked, now sipping her coffee.

"Grill for lunch? Maybe a sober trip to the quarry, or if you're feeling extra daring we could go swimming at the falls."

"Grill sounds good. It's too cold for swimming, Damon."

"Fine. We will figure something out."

Damon left the room to find some spare clothes and then to wash up. Elena applied her makeup, and finished braiding her hair. Her phone buzzed from the bedside table. She had been ignoring his calls recently, not knowing what to say to him. Again, she let it go to voicemail. By the time Damon emerged, Elena was ready.

"You look nice. Surprised that you found clothes that actually fit still," Elena smiled.

"Huh, you do know this used to be my house too, right. Daddy just ended up giving me the business instead of the childhood home. Of course I'd keep extra clothes here. No telling when I would need to escape from Kat."

"Sorry, not trying to rehash anything on you," Elena grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Oh hush, and come on. I need to use Blondies car to go pick up mine from the Quarry. Then we will bring hers back and take Ol' Blue out for the day."

By the time the two had retrieved the old Camaro, and were all set to go to the grill it was nearly three o'clock. When they arrived, the normal lunch crowd had long passed, leaving the place nearly empty.

They enjoyed burgers and a few drinks before packing up and heading out to the quarry. With a bottle of Bourbon in tow, they went back up to the ledge Elena had found Damon at the night before. It was a lot more beautiful during the daytime. The leaves were colorful and piled on the ground around them. The sky above them was pure blue, with not a single cloud to be found. Damon went over to the edge and sat down, dangling his feet over. Elena joined him cautiously. He took a swig from the bottle, and put one arm around her shoulders.

"Remember when we used to come out here? Back when we were teenagers it seemed like the only place we could actually escape from everyone," Damon said. Elena nodded, still staring out over the water below them.

"Believe it or not, but this has been the best week I've had in a really long time. I'll miss having you around. I guess I'll actually have to start going home again. When do you think you'll come back, Lena?" She rested her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath.

"That all depends, Damon. I want to stay, but I have so much going on right now. Between Matt, and you, and Caroline, no matter what I do I'll end up really hurting someone, and I don't know how I'm going to handle that." Damon took another swig and offered it to her. She refused, still not lifting her head from its place.

"I think you just shouldn't go back. You should stay here with me."

"And what? Live with you and Katherine? Yeah like that would happen again!"

"No, live with Caroline and Stefan for a while. Just until you can get a place. Or maybe I'll just leave Kat. We could live together again and spend every day like this. We could be happy." Elena wanted to believe that could happen. She loved him more than anything, and if she could fully trust him not to break her heart she would take his offer in a heart beat, but there was too much risk involved. What if it just went right back to how it was next week? She would be stuck here again.

"We can still talk every day, Damon. I could visit on holidays. You could come stay with me some. We could still be best friends." Damon got up from the ledge. He ran his hand through his already messy hair. He paced back and forth, trying to find the right words.

"I don't want to not see you. I don't want to take the chance not getting to talk to you. You know how they say, you don't realize what you have until it's gone? I used to think that was the biggest bullshit ever, but now I know how true it actually is. I don't want you to leave again," Damon reiterated his point.

"I know you don't but-," Elena got cut off by Damon's sudden words.

"I don't want to be your best friend your whole life. I love you. I didn't used to know that, but now I do. I want to be able to wake up with you in the morning, and talk to you about absolutely nothing, and kiss you whenever I damn well please. I can't do that if you go all the way back to California."

"Damon, I love you too, more than you could possibly begin to understand, but you are married. I can't just butt in and take over. I have all of my belongings back in California. I have friends there that I shouldn't abandon. I don't know what I'm going to do yet."

He stopped pacing. Damon reached out for her, and pulled her up to him. Their breaths came out as little puffs of smoke around them. Damon placed one hand on her cheek and one behind her neck. He leaned in and kissed her. Their lips melted together perfectly. She wrapped her free hands around his arms, holding him close to her.

"I'm not a good person Elena. I am selfish. I want you to myself. I don't give a shit about what Katherine, or Matt, or anyone has to say. I just know I want you. Don't leave Sunday. Please just stay here and be mine."


	14. Chapter 14

Elena was stuck at a big crossroad in her life. Ever since high school she had wanted Damon. She had spent years heartbroken, just wishing he would want her too. Now he did, but there were so many complications to go along with it. She decided then and there on that ledge that she was not going to pass up this chance the universe had given her. She hugged him tightly.

"I won't ever leave you again," she quietly promised him. He kissed her again, this time more forceful. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip asking for entrance, which she gladly granted him. Her body fit perfectly up against his. The moment couldn't last long enough. If she could Elena would gladly stay like this for the rest of her life, but her phone started ringing loudly, interrupting them. Matt, again. She declined the call, sending it straight to voicemail. She wasn't sure how to tell him that she was going to be with Damon despite all of the bad things she had previously said about him. So much for making up the missed dates with "my man" on Sunday. Elena slid her phone back in her pocket.

"Guess we should head back to the boarding house. Caroline should be starting dinner soon," she offered.

"We can do whatever you want, babe," Damon draped his arm around her shoulders. They walked down to the car together. He walked around and opened the passenger side for her and closed her in before getting in himself. He took her hand as they drove down the road. When they pulled up, Stefan's car was parked out front.

The scent of apples and cinnamon hit them as they walked through the front door. Elena wasn't terribly hungry, but the thought of dessert made her mouth water. Damon placed his hand on her back and walked with her to the kitchen where Caroline was awaiting eagerly.

"Elena, finally!" She shrieked and ran towards her.

"I have something I need to tell you. Don't get mad, or anything, but-" Caroline started.

"Wait Blondie. We have had a very good day if what you're about to say will ruin that then stop now," Damon pushed.

"Well..it's kind of important."

"It can wait Caroline."

Elena fell in to helping prep the salad for the group dinner. As she was cutting the vegetables Damon walked up and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She giggled as he kissed her and buried his face into her neck.

"Am I missing something? What's going on with you two," Caroline eyed them.

"Elena's not going anywhere. She's never leaving us, and more importantly..me, ever again. So she can tell that Matt guy to shove it, cause she's mine," Damon smirked.

"Shhh, Damon," Elena swatted him playfully.

"So you two..together. What about Katherine, Damon? Are you sure this is a good idea? Do you really want to give up California for this, Elena?"

"Katherine is nothing to me. She knows it's been over for a long time, but now I just have to sign some papers and make it official. Problem solved," Damon glared at the blonde.

"Yes, I'm very sure. It's okay Care," Elena smiled reassuringly at her.

"Have you said anything to Matt yet," she countered.

"Well, not exactly. I think I'll tell him tomorrow. I'm not sure how to do it yet. I know he has feelings for me and it's going to get messy," Elena sighed.

"You need to tell him, Elena. Now. Call him."

"Caroline it can wait. I don't want to ruin tonight with all of that drama. It's not worth it." Elena took the large salad bowl and set it on the dining room table. The door bell rang. Elena took advantage of this free minute alone she had with Damon and kissed him quickly. She was still hanging from his lips when Caroline walked back in with her guest. Elena giggled and turned to greet them. As she did, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open slightly. Matt was standing in the doorway of the kitchen staring back at her, face turning red.

"Matt. What are you doing here?" Elena asked carefully.

"Well I tried calling you for the passed two days to tell you I was coming out to see you. I thought it'd be a nice surprise. I could meet your friends finally, and see where you came from, see if I could really fit being your man, but I guess that's out of the picture now," he nodded towards Damon.

"I'm glad to see you! I just have been busy. I've had a lot going on, you know. So how'd you find me?"

"You left me Caroline's number. When you didn't answer I just called her and told her of my plans. For some reason she thought it was a good idea," he grunted.

"Good job, Blondie," Damon said pointedly.

"Well we're all very glad to see you. Dinner is almost done, so come on in here and sit down, Matt," Caroline ushered.

Damon's hold on Elena tightened as she tried to wiggle free and help set the table. He pulled her face to him and kissed her lightly. This wasn't about being sweet, this seemed like more of a possessive move to show Matt that he come this far for nothing. Elena rushed off into the dining room after Caroline, leaving the guys, minus Stefan, alone.

"Caroline, what the hell?"

"You guys insisted I not tell you what I absolutely NEEDED to tell you. So it's not MY fault," she emphasized.

"You could've gave me some what of a warning. I don't know what I'm going to do. God this is so bad. Damon will kill him, Care."

"You think I don't know that? I didn't know you guys were a thing until like fifteen minutes ago! I didn't see this obstacle when I was helping him plan!"

"Where's Stefan," Elena asked.

"Upstairs. He got in a little before you guys did, so he had to shower and all first. He will be down here soon I hope."

"Yeah, we need him. If these two start fighting he needs to be able to tear them away from one another."

"Lena, maybe you're just over reacting." A plate crashed in the background. The ceramic pieces lay strewn across the wood floor. Matt and Damon were exchanging words, but Elena couldn't tell what those words were yet.

This was going to be the start of a very bad night. Elena could already feel it in her bones.


End file.
